Stars In Her Eyes
by serindraxx
Summary: Lily keeps denying James but she doesn't realise that she's actually fallen for him! Rated T for mild language.
1. Chat with Evans

It started out the way it always did. James and Sirius knocked Snape off his feet and stole his wand. Lily came over and defended him (or she would, if she were there).

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"Knock it off!" an angry voice yelled through the crowd of students. James looked up. He knew that voice, because she'd yelled at him the previous year (O.W.L. year to be exact).

"Knock it off!" Lily repeated.

James looked at Sirius and shrugged. He lifted his wand with a jerk and stepped back.

"What's going on out here?--Really!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed. She'd come out of the great hall to see what all the racket was about, and seeing Snape on the floor, yelled, "Accio wands!" pointing her wand at James and Sirius.

James felt his wand fly out of his slack grip, but didn't grab for it.

Instead, he turned his head in the direction of Lily. She seemed rather satisfied that James had gotten into trouble (AGAIN! James thought.) and just stared at him impassively.

Told you to knock it off, her eyes mocked him. Her mocking hurt but James pretended to not see it.

"Potter, Black, what on earth were you thinking?" McGonagall yelled at them. "Fifty points from Gryffindor for this outrageous behavior."

"Well, that's not so bad, seeing as how we always got a detention," Sirius said without thinking.

"And a detention," the professor finished. James glared at Sirius. Sirius backed away.

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"Look, I'm sorry," Sirius said for the tenth time.

"Next time, shut your mouth," James said through clenched teeth. He'd managed to keep his temper under control, until they'd reached the Gryffindor table.

"James, Sirius, it's bad enough you have detention but give it a rest okay?" Remus implored. He was very tired of their bickering, as they did it every time they got detention.

They looked shocked, but managed to eat without glaring at each other.

"Finally, silence," Remus sighed, leaning back.

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"Lily, Lily, wait up!"

Lily turned around, knowing who to expect. "What? Is it because you got detention that you followed me?" she snapped.

James stopped, looking shocked, though he was used to it by now.

He shook his head. "No. I just wanted to apologize for my actions today." He was lying to her, but he couldn't tell her the truth.

"Fine, apology accepted. But you should be apologizing to Snape, not me. He'd the one you humiliated, not me. Now, get to class," Lily said, rolling her eyes.

James watched her turn around and walk down the hall, feeling worse then he had before talking to Lily. If that were possible, of course.


	2. chat with Padfoot

"So, how was your chat, Prongs?" Sirius asked quietly in Transfiguration that morning.

"Horrible," James moaned.

"Drop it, Sirius," Remus warned, Sirius shut his mouth with a sort of snap. He'd just about asked James how his talk with Lily had gone and Remus had seen it coming.

"Potter, Black, pay attention!" Professor McGonagall snapped.

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"Great. Detention for two days with Filch!" James complained at lunch.

"Well, you should have paid attention," Remus said.

"Oh, be quiet, Moony!" Sirius said, "we don't need to start another argument over whether or not we paid attention."  
"Just because you're smarter than the rest of us, Moony, doesn't mean you can rub it in, does it?"

"Oh, I don't know…." Remus answered slowly, thinking.

James shook his head, dismayed at his friend's lack of response.

"Just answer the question, Moony, "he said wearily.

"No," Remus answered, finally.

"Good," James sighed.

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That evening, in the common room, James and Sirius were finishing their Transfiguration homework while Remus and Peter worked on charms.

"This is confusing!" Peter squeaked, throwing his quill down on the table.

"Hey, don't look at me for help!" James exclaimed, holding up his hands. "That's not my strong suit. Mine's more Transfiguration."

"Don't look at me, mate," Sirius chimed in. "Mine's more Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Remus sighed. "Give it here, Peter. I'd rather not cheat, but…." He held out his hand and Peter handed the parchment over gratefully.

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Meanwhile, in the girls' dormitory, Lily was trying to ignore the excited whispers of her friends. Not that it was easy.

"Lily, did you see the way James looked at you in the common room?" Sandra gushed. Lily rolled her eyes.

"You know, it's rather hard to concentrate with you squealing all the time," she said, smiling gently, "and don't look at me that way," she added, Sandra closed her mouth with a tight snap.

"She's crazy," Sandra muttered so Lily couldn't hear. The rest of the girls giggled. Lily looked at them disapprovingly.

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Back to the guys….

Sirius and James laughed over some joke they'd pulled, making Remus look up questioningly.

"James, have you noticed anything odd going on upstairs?" he asked sharply. He strained his ears and heard giggles.

James shook his head, still laughing.

"Then shhh!" Remus implored, putting his finger to his lips.

James and Sirius listened and they heard it too. Giggling. They looked at each other, eyebrows raised. Sirius bounded up the girls' staircase, forgetting the past few years he'd tried to do that, only to have the stair turn into a slide.

"I hate that!" he said, picking himself up painfully.

James and Peter cracked up and, roaring with laughter, fell off their chairs onto the floor. Remus shook his head, smiling.


	3. odd giggling

A/N: sorry it took so long to update. had a lot of stuff on my mind and i had writer's block. let me know what you think.

"What's going on down there?"

Remus looked up at the stairs. He could see the outline of Lily against the stairway. "Everything's fine down here, Lily," he said, but Lily didn't look convinced.

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking at the forms of James and Peter laughing on the floor and Sirius looking annoyed. "Er, never mind. I don't want to know," she said, changing her mind. She closed the door and Remus sighed in relief.

"Okay, what was that about?" James had stopped laughing and looked concerned.

"Lily was just wondering what was going on down here. I'm sure she saw the stairway. There's no way you could miss it," Remus said, chuckling at the look on James's face.

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Lily heard laughing down stairs and went to find out what was going on. She called down the stairs, which had turned into a slide, "What's going on down there?"

She saw Remus look up. "Everything's fine down here, Lily," he assured her.

"Are you sure?" she asked. She saw James and Peter laughing over something and Sirius watching them with an annoyed expression. "Er, never mind. I don't want to know," she changed her mind. She closed the door and burst out laughing.

"What is so funny, Lil?" Sandra asked, rolling over on her bed so she was looking at Lily upside down.

"I think... I know... What the ... Laughter downstairs... Was about," Lily said between gales of laughter. "The stair... Was a...A slide."

She pointed at the door, and Sandra went to the door to look. She looked out.

"I can see why you changed your mind, Lil," she said, spotting Sirius with a frown on his face. She hastily pulled her head in the door as Sirius turned his head toward the girls' dormitory. Sandra could see why. Lily was laughing so hard that it carried out the open door.

"What exactly are you laughing about, Lily?" Serindra asked.

Lily shook her head, unable to say anything, as she was laughing too hard.

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"Did you guys hear that?" Sirius asked, rounding on James and Peter.

"Hear what, Padfoot?"

"Damn, why don't you ever listen!" Sirius was getting annoyed and it was never a pretty sight.

"Someone upstairs was laughing! And I have a stinking suspicion who!"

"Who, Padfoot?" James asked curiously, trying to calm Sirius down before the girls heard.

"Lily!" Sirius said vehemently.

"What makes you think that?" this time it wasn't James who asked, but Remus.

"Because I recognized the voice." Remus sighed.

"What?" Sirius asked, not in the mood to listen.

"It's just..."

"Just what?"

"Oh, never mind. Forget it."

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"Why is it that she can study and manage to stay out of trouble, while I _always_ get detention? _Why_?"

It was Thursday and James was frustrated that Lily had just ignored him.

"No idea, mate. Must be in your nature, I guess," Sirius shrugged, grabbing a piece of toast and a bowl of oatmeal.

James snorted. "My _nature_? Since when is it my nature?"

"Not this again," Remus moaned, putting his hands over his ears.

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_Meanwhile…somewhere deep in the jungle…_

(LOL, just kidding, peoples! I was thinking aboutThe Emperor's New Groove!)

Lily looked over at James and his friends. "What is it with him and trying to catch my attention? He does it all the time." 

"Lily…" Alice started. "Guys, help me out here," she added, looking at Serindra, Sarah, and Sandra.

"Lily, James has had a crush on you for over five years. Why do you think he tries to catch your attention? He's in love with you," Sandra said. Lily looked at her curiously.

"Lily, just try to get along with him, please," Serindra begged. She'd given Sandra a disapproving look.

Lily looked from the pleading look on Serindra's face, to the dreamy expression on Sandra's and the expressionless looking face of Sarah. She sighed.

"Fine, but any wisecracks about it and the deal's off, got it?" she replied. The other girls nodded.

"Oh, crap, there's the bell," she said, standing up.

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"Lily, Lily, wait up!" James called, running to catch up.

She turned and nearly lost her balance. Her bag ripped and all her books fell out. "Damn, what on earth did I do to deserve this?" she muttered.

James caught up and started gathering her books for her.

"Um… I'd better get going," Lily murmured as she snatched her books out of James's hands. She stepped out of reach, feeling rather uncomfortable.

'What if what her friends said was true?' She shook her head to clear it, and took a seat in the front of the classroom without realizing she'd made it to class.

"How can she ignore me like that?" James asked irritably in back of the class, listening to Professor Flit-wick, who was telling them about how his classes at N.E.W.T. level were harder then at the level they'd been practicing.

"You know, I see your point, Prongs. How can she?" James looked at Sirius, who just shrugged. "Nope, no idea. Why don't you ask her?" He pointed at Lily's back, held stiffly by it's owner, who was trying to ignore them.

By the time that the class let out, James had written a letter to Lily and he handed it to her after they had gathered their books.

She looked at it, but quickly folded it up and stuck it in her bag, vowing to read it at lunch.


	4. the letter

**A/N: sorry it took so long to update. Don't want to keep you from reading.**

Four

"Ooh, Lily, who gave you the note?"

Lily rolled her eyes. It was lunchtime and she'd taken the letter out of her bag. She snatched a look at James, but he appeared to be ignoring her, much as she had that morning.

"From James!"

Lily sighed. Great, how was she going to get out of answering now? "Yes, from James. And I haven't had the chance to look at it yet," she snapped.

"No need to snap, Lily, jeez girl, what's with you?" Sandra said sadly, looking at Lily's face for an emotion but didn't find any.

"Just let me read the letter," Lily said, grabbing at it but Serindra held it out of her reach.

"'Lily,

I'm wondering whether you have a date to the Halloween ball. But I'm too nervous to ask you, knowing as you always yell at me when I ask you out. If you do, I understand, but just think about it, please.

James'"

Golly, was Lily embarrassed. That appeared to be something that was for her eyes only, and not to be read out loud to the entire hall.

"Oops, I think that went a little astray, Prongs," Sirius said with amusement. James shook his head, thinking about the fact that that letter had been for Lily's eyes and no one else's ears.

"Are you blushing? Actually blushing?" Sirius sounded amused.

"Never you mind," James snapped.

"Ooh, you _are_ blushing. I'm going to enjoy this one, I think." Sirius leaned back and fell off the bench. James had a hard time keeping his face straight, especially when he looked over at Lily. She seemed to be having a hard time, too.

"That was not a very smart thing to do, _Padfoot_," said a voice behind them, but it didn't sound annoyed, it was rather amused. James looked up.

"Hello, Lily," Sirius groaned as he stood up. "That knocked the wind out of me." He grinned slightly.

"Hello, glad to see you remembered your manners in front of a lady for once," she responded, turning it into a joke

Sirius caught on. He grinned even wider, if that were possible, and said, "Well, I tried to be more dignified, but I guess I just wasn't dignified enough."

"You know, you are impossible," Lily laughed, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I wanted to talk to James for a minute, before class."

James looked at Sirius with concern. What had he done now?

"Well, are you coming?"

James sighed. "Yes, I'm coming," he said, getting up.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to yell at you. Not now, anyway," Lily assured him.

"For some reason, that's not very comforting," James said grinning lightly as he followed her.

"Soooo you asked me to the dance in a letter?" she asked.

James looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected that. "Well, yeah, I suppose I did," he answered slowly.

"You did?" Lily sounded sarcastic. "Right, well, how do I know that?"

James rolled his eyes. "Lily, please be nice. I can't take sarcastic remarks right now."

"Oh, you can't? Well, why didn't you say so? I'd have annoyed you sooner," Lily said sweetly. She grinned.

James groaned. He should never have told her that. Gosh, was he stupid! "I should never have said that," he said, hitting his head.

"Oh, so the lovebirds are having a heated discussion, are they?" said an unwanted female voice. Bellatrix Black was standing behind them with a smug expression on her face.

Lily blushed furiously, but she found her composer rather quickly. "Shut it, Black," she snapped.

"Ooh, apparently I hit a nerve. What a snappy remark," Bellatrix sneered. She chuckled maliciously at James, who was trying to decide whether he ought to slap her or leave her. The first choice was more tempting.

"Is James too worried over the Mudblood? Is he trying not to show it?" Bellatrix laughed evilly and turned back toward the Great Hall. James breathed in to keep himself from hitting her and started down the hall for class.

"James, please wait up!" Lily pleaded as she tried to keep up with him. "I-I wanted to thank you for sticking up for me. I could tell you were having a hard time containing yourself from hitting her."

James stopped abruptly and turned to her. "Wha-What?" he asked, shocked.

"You heard me, James Potter," Lily said sounding rather annoyed. She turned on her heel and walked toward her friends. James shook his head and walked into their next class.

A/N: please review! please!


	5. points docked

**A/N: Just to refresh everyone's memory;**

"**You heard me, James Potter," Lily said sounding rather annoyed. She turned on her heel and walked toward her friends. James shook his head and walked into their next class.**

Five

As James walked into their next class, Lily was walking with her friends.

Oh god, she thought. I didn't give him my answer. Black made me so mad that I forgot. Darn it, how shallow can I be?

"Uh, Lily?" Alice asked timidly, as though worried for her friend's sanity. "Are you ok? Why are you muttering?"

"Huh? Was I muttering?" Lily asked, coming out of her revelry long enough to talk to her friends and to walk into the classroom after James. **(A/N: they are in the dungeons for potions, just so you're aware, LOL!)**

"Uh, yeah you were. Why were you calling yourself shallow?" Serindra asked. "Just out of curiosity," she added, seeing the look on Sandra and Sarah's faces.

"Never mind," Lily replied, putting her hands up to say that they were to drop the subject.

"So, what did you tell James?" Sarah asked as they set up their cauldrons for potions.

"That's something I would rather not talk about," Lily said quietly.

"Fine, we'll leave you alone for a little while, but you'll have to talk sooner or later, you know," Sandra said, with a glance at Alice, Serindra and Sarah. Lily didn't catch the look; she was too busy with her potion.

"Now spill, girl," Alice pleaded, making her eyes big and round like a puppy's.

"Don't start, Alice. I'm not going to spill," Lily said for the tenth time that evening.

"Ahhh, please! Please, please, please!" Alice repeated. Her eyes grew rounder. Lily groaned.

"I'll be right back," she promised. She ran down the girls' stairs and into the common room. James looked up from the prank he and the rest of the marauders **(A/N: as in James, Sirius, Peter and, Remus.)** were planning to see Lily walking over to them.

She was halfway there when she seemed to realize what she was doing. She turned around and walked back toward the girls' staircase. James couldn't help but say, "Hey, looking for something—or someone?"

That earned him a stern look from Remus. Lily turned around with a jerk. "What was that for?" she asked sharply, hissing as she walked briskly toward the marauders.

James looked at her worriedly, wondering what she was going to do to him. **(A/N: dicing him in quarters would work nicely. Grins evilly. Sorry. I just like the idea of Lily losing her temper with James.) **He didn't have to wait long. _Slap_! She hit him as hard as she could, leaving raw skin where she'd hit him. **(A/N: remind you of Hermione at all?)**

"Ouch, that's got to hurt, mate. Seriously though," Sirius grinned at James, "You should watch your mouth around her. How many times has she slapped you this year? About thirty times?" He looked at Remus, who nodded in agreement.

"You really should listen to us, Prongs. She's going to keep slapping you unless you straighten up and stop trying to impress her. All you manage to do is make her temper rise," Remus said, quietly. He looked at Lily, whose face was red and she apparently was trying to ignore their conversation.

"Well, it's not like I can help it," James said ruefully, rubbing his stinging cheek. It was still red and raw-looking.

"You know, if you keep rubbing it, you might make it worse." James looked around, surprised at the fact that Lily was still standing there.

"What?" he asked, slightly taken aback by the tone of her voice. It was more apologetic than angry.

"Your cheek. If you keep rubbing it, you might make it worse," Lily said, watching him rub unconsciously at his cheek. **(A/N: Yeah, I know that I went from her being angry to apologetic, but hey, its _my_ story.)**

His hand dropped, then it jumped to his hair. He messed it up in the back. Lily rolled her eyes. Sirius laughed at her, the laugh more bark-like then it should have been. Lily threatened him with her hand. "Watch it, Black," she hissed malevolently at him.

"Ooh, what are you going to do, Evans? Put me in detention?" he asked her as he cowered under her glare.

"I could, but then, why would I? No, I'm docking fifty points for back talking me," Lily replied, laughing softly at the look of horror on his face.

"You wouldn't," he breathed,

"I would, and I believe I already have," Lily said, nodding and turning back to the girls' staircase.

"Sirius, you really should have kept your mouth shut," James commented, watching Sirius's face turning slowly red.

"I didn't mean for her to dock points," he said angrily. James and Remus looked wary. Peter looked worried.

"Mate, uh, you apparently forgot that she is a Prefect, which means that she is able to give out whatever punishment that she thinks fits with whatever the offence is," Remus said," unless, of course, the offence is really horrible, like, hmm, using an unforgivable curse," he continued thoughtfully," and in that instance she would need to bring the offender to their head of house."

"Are you finished yet?" James asked, smiling cockily, when Remus stopped for breath.

"Yes," Remus replied. He grinned at James. Sirius grinned at the both of them.

"So, you still angry?" James asked in a would-be casual voice, but it didn't fool Sirius.

"Uh, yeah about that," Sirius started uncomfortably, "I didn't mean to worry you guys. I'm glad that I _didn't_ get a detention, but I'm sorry about taking my anger out on you guys." **(A/N: Sorry if it's kind of emotional for you, but I didn't want it to be that Sirius stays mad, at least not in this chapter. Sniffs yeah, that's me crying, even though I'm writing it, but I can't help it.)**

"Forgiven," James said, grinning. He sniffed.

"What?" Sirius asked in concern.

"I'm just Soooo happy," James said, grinning even more widely. If his mouth got any bigger, it might have split.

Sirius pushed him.

**A/N: Please review!**


	6. strange things are happening

**A/N: so that chapter, uh, oh, was kind of emotional between James and Sirius (Just kidding, peoples, but, I am an emotional, and yes, romantic freak—half the books I own are romance).**

**Here are the last few sentences for the last chapter in case you forgot:**

"**Forgiven," James said, grinning. He sniffed.**

"**What?" Sirius asked in concern.**

"**I'm just Soooo happy," James said, grinning even more widely. If his mouth had gotten any bigger, it might have split.**

**Sirius pushed him.**

Six

The next morning at breakfast, Lily had a glazed sort of expression on her face. Alice kept moving her hand in front of Lily's face, but Lily didn't notice.

"What's with her?" Serindra asked, pointing at Lily. Alice, Sarah, and Sandra shrugged and continued eating their oatmeal. **(A/N: yeah, I know that they ate that for breakfast the day before, but I don't have something better for them to eat, bear with me here.)**

Meanwhile…

"Moony, did you ever notice that when a woman appears to be thinking, they have a glazed look on their face?" James asked, watching Alice trying to catch Lily's attention.

"No, can't say I have, why?" Remus asked curiously. Sirius looked up.

James rolled his eyes. "You know, you can be so ignorant at times. Look at Lily," he said. Remus leaned back to look at Lily. She did have a glazed look on her face, as though thinking about something.

"You know, mate," Sirius said, "maybe you're right. She does seem to be thinking. But I wonder why."

"Oy, Serindra, come here for a sec, 'k?" Remus called down the table.

Serindra looked up and, leaving her friends behind, walked over to the marauders. "What?" she asked as she sat down.

"We were just wondering what has Lily so preoccupied over there. Do you know?" James asked her, trying to eat but finding that he couldn't concentrate on his utensils.

Serindra shrugged. "We aren't sure yet. We've been trying to get her to eat, but so far, she's ignored us. Why?" she asked suddenly, getting suspicious. James was being too innocent for his good.

Five minutes later, she still believed what she thought. Yep, too innocent for his own good.

**A/N: its not breakfast time, so you know. Actually, it's Charms class right now. I'm not spoiling it for you, just read! **

"Stupid, stupid wand!" Ashley exclaimed as her wand sent a jet of spray at Emma Robins.

"It's not a jab, Ashley," Lily explained while she demonstrated the proper maneuvers. Ashley didn't look too pleased by this; she muttered, "Show-off."

"Hey, watch it, Ashley Aven," Sarah said, reaching her limits. "In case you didn't know, she's a Prefect, which means that she can give you detention."

"Drop it, Sarah," Lily muttered so that Sarah could hear her.

Ashley looked outraged. "Yeah, so?" she snapped. Her eyes were colder than ice. **(A/N: good description, huh?)**

"Miss Aven, will you kindly keep your voice down?" Professor Flit-wick said from his desk. He was sitting on his usual pile of books, as he was so short **(A/N: sorry to those who find that insulting. I know my mom finds that word insulting.) **That he couldn't see over it.

Serindra looked up from the feather she was trying to freeze, and Lily knew she was listening to see whether Ashley would be quiet. She was.

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James looked up at Professor Flit-wick's admonition of Ashley Aven. "She doesn't look too happy, does she?" he asked Sirius, who was watching the girls and not paying attention to his feather.

"Sirius, your feather's on fire," Remus said, looking up to see what the smell was that had reached his nostrils.

Sirius looked down quickly, and used his wand to put it out, looking sheepish. "Sorry, Moony," he said, as he placed his now-dripping feather back on the desk. "Well, now it's easier to freeze," he said, grinning.

James rolled his eyes. "Sirius, we were supposed to _not _get it wet," he explained, smiling gently. He shook his head.

Lily stood up, stretching. She'd been working on her homework for the past hour and a half. She yawned. **(A/N: I'm tired. What can I say?) **"Well, I'm going to bed. I've got about a foot to go before I'm done with this essay. What about you guys?"

"Not fair," Serindra pouted, "You're always farther then the rest of us. How on earth do you do it?"

Lily shrugged. In truth, she didn't know. It was just that way. "Well, are you going to answer my question or not?" she persisted.

"I've got about four feet down," Sarah said proudly. She had three feet and eight inches written and her hand was cramped.

"Ahhh, no fair, I've got two feet," Sandra complained. Her hand was even more cramped, as she wrote small, to save room, she insisted.

Serindra sighed. "I suppose I have no choice, do I?" she said. Lily shook her head. "Fine, I have eight inches written. Happy?" Serindra shook her hair out of her eyes and rolled up her parchment.

"Oh, great," Lily complained as James and his friends came in. "Where the hell was he?" she asked herself out loud.

"Uh, Lily? Are you okay?" Serindra asked quietly. She saw Lily looking at James and looked at the other two, who were arguing over how long their parchment was. They looked at Serindra and immediately went quiet. They looked between James and Lily, as though worried about the tension between the two.

"What's going on with those two?" Sarah murmured quietly. Her friend seemed hypnotized and either under a spell or acting of her own accord.

Lily suddenly shook her head. She seemed to come out of a trance. "What the heck are you doing, Potter?" she snapped.

James looked shocked. "Uh, nothing," he said meekly.

Sirius looked at James. "What was that about, mate?" he asked, as soon as they reached their dormitory.

"What do you mean, Padfoot? Nothing was going on between the two of us, why would you think that?" James said, as Remus and Sirius looked at each other. They had a feeling there was more then what James was telling them.

**A/N: Let me know what you think, please! Review it! **


	7. Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff

**A/N: so what did you think of the last chapter? Sorry about that, I'm trying to at least have _some _Cliffhangers in my chapters. This chapter is going to be a bit better. Don't let me spoil it, LOL. I have a habit of that.**

**Anyway, here's what happened last chapter:**

**Sirius looked at James. "What was that about, mate?" he asked, as soon as they reached their dormitory.**

"**What do you mean, Padfoot? Nothing was going on between the two of us, why would you think that?" James said, as Remus and Sirius looked at each other. They had a feeling there was more then what James was telling them**

It was the first Quidditch match of the season. And Lily was going to watch.

Her friends were shocked when she told them that she was going. "But you never go," Serindra said.

"Exactly. And that's why I'm going," Lily explained.

Serindra didn't look convinced, but she didn't say anything. Sarah was indignant. Hmmph! There was something strange going on here and she was going to find out what.

"Did you hear the latest gossip, Prongs, old boy?" Sirius asked at breakfast. It was the morning of the Quidditch match, and rumors always flew around the school.

"Nope, why?" James said, looking up from his pancakes. **(A/N: finally, something different!)**

"Because they're saying that miss Lily Evans is coming to the match, for what, the second time this year, I believe," Sirius continued.

James looked at Sirius, trying to divide the glee and the seriousness to figure out whether or not Sirius was telling the truth.

Apparently he was.

Serindra walked over. "Hey, Sirius, good luck today. You're going to need it," she said loudly. All the students at Hogwarts knew that Sirius Black and James Potter were on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. James was Seeker and Sirius was a Chaser. Remus was commentator.

Sirius grinned. "Thanks, Miss Davis. So are those rumors true?"

Serindra thought for a second. "What rumors? Oh, those? Yeah, they're true. She's coming. Well, see you later." She waved and walked down toward the other end.

Sirius grinned wider. "Told you, Prongs. She's coming alright."

**A/N: hmmm this just gets more interesting by the second huh? Will Gryffindor win or will the other team? (It's Hufflepuff by the way, LOL.) I always liked the Quidditch matches in the Harry Potter books. That was one of the reasons I read them. Well, here's the next part of the chapter. Let me know what you think and if this is how you see the match. **

**Serindraxx**

"And Black has the Quaffle. Come on, Sirius, you can do it."

The match had started about half-an-hour ago and Remus seemed to be enjoying it. Lily shook her head, but grinned just the same. Nothing she could do to stop it.

James seemed as arrogant on a broomstick as he was on the ground. Lily could not see why most of the girls in the stands were pretending to swoon.

Serindra finally got fed up with the way that Lily was ignoring her. "For crying out loud, Lily, could you please lighten up and enjoy the match, please?" she begged.

Lily shrugged. "Fine, but I still don't see what the point is in swooning over a guy just because he's a Quidditch player."

"Are you kidding?" Serindra fairly yelped. A lot of the students in the stands turned and simultaneously said, "Shhh!"

"God, he's drop-dead handsome and he likes you. He. Likes. You," she said slowly and quietly.

Lily rolled her eyes. Serindra was such a romantic! "You see too much into this then is necessary, I don't see it like that," she said, grinning slightly.

Serindra shook her head in dismay. Her friend didn't see it, still, after five years of living with James Potter in the same house. She couldn't see what her friends could. Either she couldn't see or she wouldn't.

"And Potter gets the Snitch! Gryffindor wins one hundred and fifty to one hundred," Remus said through the magical mega-phone. Lily and Serindra screamed the loudest. Gryffindor had won!

Ten minutes later, James and Sirius had managed to get through the throng of students, mostly girls, gathered out by the Great oak front doors. Lily caught up with them and walked arm-in-arm with Serindra and Remus.

"I can't believe we won!" Sarah exclaimed for about the tenth time that afternoon. Lily was tired of hearing it.

"Yes, we know, Sari. Do you have keep saying it?" she asked crossly.

"Lils, you know I hate that nickname, so why do you keep using it?" Sarah complained behind her.

"Because I know you hate it," Lily said, grinning evilly.

"Ugh! I should never have fallen for that," Sarah replied, raising her hands over her head. Lily laughed.

"Would you two please knock it off?" Serindra begged, and James turned around.

"Lily are you ever going to answer that letter I sent you?" he asked.

Lily thought. "Oh, that letter. I'm thinking about it. Is that okay with you?" she asked impatiently. A lot of the girls gave her glares but she ignored them.

"Well, yeah, I suppose, but you could have thought about any time and been able to answer my question you know," he reasoned. Lily groaned.

"You want me to answer in front of all these students?" she fairly moaned. James nodded, smiling.

"Fine, I'll answer, but not this instant," she promised.

**A/N: so what did you think of the Quidditch match? Not all that long, was it? Sorry about that, but it is impossible to write about a Quidditch match if you've never seen it (Sorry, I'm in a weird mood this morning. LOL.) **

"So, what did you tell him?"

Lily groaned slightly. "I told him I'd go, but under one condition," she said, pointing her finger at Alice so as to act stern.

"Well, what was the condition?" Alice questioned.

"That he stop pestering me," Lily said, smiling gently at Alice.

"Well, what'd he say?" Serindra said, sitting cross-legged on her bed.

"He seemed rather disappointed but he took it well," Lily replied, picking up on her book. She had been talking over it for the past ten minutes, not paying attention to the game the other girls were playing.

"Anyway," Alice said, picking up a chess piece. She had been playing Wizard chess with Serindra, only she'd lost. "You are going with him, aren't you?"

Lily sighed. "Not that I have a choice now," she said. Her bookmark fell out of her book. "Darn, where did it go?" she looked on the floor.

"Lily, what are you looking for?" Alice asked, noticing the bookmark on the floor.

"My bookmark, have you seen it?" Lily looked down on the floor and spotted it. She picked it up.

"What exactly are you reading, Lils?" Sandra asked, as Lily went back to reading her book.

"Oh, one of the books that I forgot I had. Cinderella," she said, looking at the cover of the book.

"One of your romances? Why do you read those?" Sarah asked. She was the only one out of the five of them who didn't like romance.

"Because, I like the fact that there can be romance in the world, where nearly everything is not wonderful," Lily sighed, rolling over on her bed.

"You are such a romantic," Sarah complained. She rolled her eyes at Sandra, who just ignored it.

"You are not," Lily responded.

**A/N: another chapter through. Sighs darn, sorry for making you wait for so long. Please review! **


	8. singing in the rain

**A/N: so what did you think of that? Lily is a romantic, while Sarah is not. Sarah doesn't read romantic stories, while Lily does.**

**Here's what happened last chapter:**

"**Because, I like the fact that there can be romance in the world, where nearly everything is not wonderful," Lily sighed, rolling over on her bed.**

"**You are such a romantic," Sarah complained. She rolled her eyes at Sandra, who just ignored it.**

"**You are not," Lily responded.**

When Lily woke up next morning, she happened to look out the window. Rain! She looked over at the other girls in the room. They were still deeply asleep with their dreams to keep them company, so Lily was able to sneak out of the room un-noticed.

She looked down the stairs at the common room. Whew! She wasn't about to get caught going outside. How very wrong she was!

At the same time as Lily, James got up and stretched. He spied the rain at almost the same instant as Lily.

As he looked at the rain, he heard a creak outside on the girls' steps. Instantly curious, he got dressed and grabbed his invisibility cloak, making sure that Sirius was up before he left.

"What's up?" Sirius asked groggily as he held his head. He had a splitting headache and didn't know why.

"Shhh!" James implored, checking to make sure the rest of the boys were asleep. He pointed at the window, and Sirius turned his head gently to make sure he didn't make his head ache worse.

"Oh, rain. But why did you wake me up, Prongs?" he asked. James exhaled in annoyance.

"Did you know that walking in the rain is Lily's favorite thing?" he asked. Sirius' eyes grew wide, as he realized what James planned to do.

"Are you nuts?" he breathed. James shrugged, a mischievous grin on his face. Sirius shook his head ruefully. "I really don't know what's gotten into you, Prongs. I really don't," he said, sighing as he got out of bed and got dressed. James threw the cloak over the two of them and they walked out of the room. They were careful not to make the stairs creak. As they walked down, James saw the common room door close.

"Hurry up, Sirius, or we'll lose her," he implored.

"It's not like I can go any faster than this. You keep stepping on my feet," Sirius groaned. They were really too tall to use the cloak together, but James still insisted on it.

"Shhh! She'll hear you," James whispered. He said it not a moment too soon. Suddenly Lily stopped, and James almost landed against her. Luckily, he stepped back, and hit Sirius's chest.

"Ouch! Watch it, Prongs," Sirius whispered. He rubbed his chest, while James grinned at him. They were pretty much the same height, but Sirius was about three inches taller.

"Not my fault. Blame that pretty redhead in front of us," James grinned. Lily resumed her walk, while James and Sirius followed at a safe distance.

Lily stopped, feeling that odd tingling at the base of her neck, and turned around. She could have sworn she was being followed, but seeing no one, continued walking toward the front doors. The ground was rather moist with the rain, but she didn't mind. She started walking a bit faster, breathing deeply, and started to dance. Suddenly a song came to mind and she started singing.

Ever close your eyes 

_Ever stop and listen_

_Ever feel alive_

_And you've nothing missing_

_You don't need a reason_

_Let the day go on and on_

_Let the rain fall down_

_Everywhere around you_

_Give into it now_

_Let the day surround you_

_You don't need a reason_

_Let the rain go on and on_

_Only take the time_

_From the helter skelter_

_Every day you find_

_Everything's in kilter_

_You don't need a reason_

_Let the day go on and on_

_Every summer sun_

_Every winter evening_

_Every spring to come_

_Every autumn leaving_

_You don't a reason_

_Let it all go on and on_

_What a day_

_What a day to take to_

_What a way_

_What a way_

_To make it through_

_What a day_

_What a day to take to_

_A wild child_

Suddenly she stopped both singing and dancing. She looked around and spotted James leaning against the garden wall.

"How long have you been there?" she asked, silently praying that it wasn't long enough to hear her voice. But that was dashed as he said, "For the past ten minutes, long enough to hear your sweet voice," and grinned.

Lily groaned, but squared her shoulders. "Thank you so much for your assessment, kind sir. Now, if you don't mind…" Her voice trailed away as she saw the admiration in his eyes. The emotion vanished as fast as it had appeared and Lily found herself wondering if she'd seen it at all._ I couldn't have,_ she thought. But if she didn't, why did she feel odd?

"Where were you?" asked an indignant Alice when Lily sat at the table half-an-hour later, dry and still thinking of the admiring look on James' face.

Lily shook her self out of her revelry, shocked to find her friends looking at her or, in Alice's case, glaring.

"What?" she asked. More glaring and no explanation what so ever.

"Why on earth were you outside!" Alice fairly shrieked at her, causing some first years to jump. Alice just ignored tem, and continued to yell at her, "and I don't care whether you love singing and dancing in the rain."

"Alice, calm down," Serindra begged, looking at Sarah and Sandra. The three of them shrugged in confusion. They didn't understand what had gotten into until they saw the way James was alternately looking at Lily and talking to his group of friends, who (besides Sirius, who had been there, even though Lily didn't know.) didn't know what Alice's shouting was about.

Lily groaned and buried her face in her hands, thinking of the look James had given her, the one she thought she hadn't even seen.

**A/N: that song Lily sang isn't mine; it's Enya's. It just fit with the chapter. What did you think of the chapter? Please R/R! **


	9. mixed feelings

**A/N: so what did you think of singing in the rain? Sorry its been taking me so long to update. I've been unusually busy. Just let me know what you think of this chapter, 'K? Thanks to all who reviewed, and hopefully those who review later on. Keep reviewing, peoples! **

**Here's what happened last chapter:**

**Lily groaned and buried her face in her hands, thinking of the look James had given her, the one she thought she hadn't even seen.**

"Uh, Lils, you alright?" Sarah asked worriedly. She looked at James and back at Lily, a look of dawning comprehension on her face. She mouthed to Sandra, Serindra and Alice that they were to follow her to the library, and stood up.

Lily looked confused as to where they were going, but wasn't told anything. She just watched as they exited and sighed in annoyance.

"Something wrong, miss?" said a voice at her shoulder and she looked up into the face of none other than Sirius Black.

"No, nothing, Black. Just you," she responded. Sirius grinned at the tone she used with him.

"Really? Is that so? I thought you had a problem with James. Is it true? Were you really outside in the rain this morning?" Sirius asked calmly, as though he had just heard about it.

"You know damn well that it's true, so keep your nose out of stuff you don't belong in," she hissed at him.

"Whoa, did I just hear your tongue use such a disgusting word?" Sirius asked in mock surprise.

"Yes, you heard perfectly well, so stop acting so naïve," she said, crossing her arms across her chest and turning in her seat so her back was to the table and so she glared into his grinning face.

"I'm naïve? How do you figure that?" he asked, still grinning.

Lily didn't know what to say to that, and Sirius took the way out before she exploded and yelled at him. He turned around and ran toward the side with the Marauders.

"What do you think is going on between James and Lily?" Sarah asked. The four of them were in the library discussing what she'd seen between Lily and James. James and Lily had alternated looking at each other, which meant that James would look at Lily while Lily looked at her breakfast, and then Lily would look at James while he was staring at his breakfast.

Sandra shrugged. "Well, I don't know what's going on between the two of them, but I can see what Lily either can't, or won't, notice." She shrugged again and went silent.

Sarah looked at her as though inviting her to continue, but Sandra just stayed silent. Sarah shrugged and turned to the other girls. "Do you notice it too?" she asked impatiently.

"Lily has been acting rather odd lately and, come to think of it, James has, too." Remus and Sirius were having a discussion, and by all accounts, it wasn't the usual one. The Usual argument was when Remus told Sirius he needed to work harder then he was working.

Sirius looked up calmly, even while he was reading up on charms. "What do you mean? I haven't noticed anything," he said, even though he had. Especially when Lily looked over at James. It wasn't that hard. And James… well, he was a bit harder to discern, but it was there. Especially when he looked off into space and seemed to be thinking.

James came in at that moment, cutting off the conversation. "Guys, you want to go to the kitchens? I'm hungry," he whined. Remus rolled his eyes. Figures. James and Sirius were always hungry. Seriously, you'd think they hadn't eaten ten minutes ago. **(A/N: Oh, did I just say 'seriously'? I meant honestly.) **Anyways, back to the three guys.

"Sure, we'll come, Prongs," Sirius said, jumping up. **(A/N: See what I mean? Sirius eats too much. LOL! Don't mind me. I talk too much for my own good.) **

"Sirius, you really should work on your essay, you know," Remus said, rolling his eyes.

"Speak for yourself, I'm hungry," Sirius whined.

"You're always hungry," Remus responded, his hands on his hips. He shook his head. "I'm not exactly surprised. Oh, go eat," he said, making shooing gestures with his hands. Sirius always complained about the amount of homework they were given, and he couldn't concentrate with all the noise, anyway.

"Finally, you made it," Lily sighed, watching as Remus walked into the library.

"Yeah, well, had a spot of trouble with James and Sirius. You know how they are," Remus said, rolling his eyes. Lily laughed.

"Yeah, I know them. Not as well as I would have liked, but I know them all the same," she replied. Remus looked at her in surprise.

"I thought you disliked James," he said after a moment. Lily looked shocked beyond belief. Had she really said that? Had she?

"Well, uh," she stammered, "Don't I get to change my mind?"

Remus shrugged half-heartedly, though on the inside, he really would rather have laughed. "I suppose," he said, as though unsure. But he knew exactly that he was sure. Acting hesitant was his specialty.

**A/N: sorry I left you hanging there. But I have been rather busy, with AWANA and such. There's more to come in this book, so be patient with me. I'll try to update soon, but I can't make any promises. Please tell me what you think! And sorry this chapter is so short, but I have major writers' block. Let me know what you think should happen next chapter.**


	10. the halloween dance

**Woo-hoo! Sorry about how this chapter turned out, but I've had writers' block, and let me tell you that writers' block is not all that merciful. Please, please, please review, it doesn't take that long to just hit go and write about the chapter. A simple 'love it' or 'hate it' doesn't take all that long, does it?**

**Here's what happened last chapter:**

**Remus shrugged half-heartedly, though on the inside, he really would rather have laughed. "I suppose," he said, as though unsure. But he knew exactly that he was sure. Acting hesitant was his specialty.**

Lily and Alice were in the girls' dormitory, looking through clothes to wear to the Halloween dance. "So, Lily, do you have a necklace for me to borrow?" Alice asked as she hung up a jacket in the wardrobe.

"Why?"

Alice looked at Lily exasperatedly "You don't have any idea?" she asked. Lily shook her head.

"No. Should I?" she asked, as at that very moment, Serindra and Sandra walked in.

"Well, have you told her yet?" Sandra asked impatiently. Alice shook her head.

"No, I haven't, but believe it or not I was about to," she said. Lily was looking between Sandra and Alice with a puzzled frown, and Serindra was laughing quietly behind her hand.

Alice shook her head, but at a quick glare from Sandra, she said, "Frank asked me to the ball yesterday."

Lily stopped frowning and squealed, "Really? Wow!" and she hugged Alice exuberantly. Every body at Hogwarts knew that Alice and Frank were meant for each other, including Alice.

"Uh, guys can I ask you what you're wearing to the dance the day after tomorrow? Because I heard that there's going to be a masquerade and that the Head-Boy and Girl are going to be handing out two prizes for both the best costumes," Serindra said hesitantly and grinned.

"Y-you know a-about the party? How is that?" Lily asked, well, stuttered is the right word.

Serindra shook her head in amazement. "Lily, dear, I go out with a Prefect, remember? Anyways," and she looked at the other girls, "Remus says that they had only just decided on a masquerade party last night. And back to my original question: what are you guys wearing to the ball?"

Lily shrugged, making a noncommittal sound in her throat. Sandra looked at Lily, and a twinkle entered her gray eyes. Lily knew that look right away. "Mope, don't even try it," she said, "I'm not going to tell you what I'm wearing."

"Ah, why not?" Alice begged, having seen the twinkle in Sandra's eyes and having gotten one herself.

"Nope, I'm not saying," Lily repeated. She had seen the same twinkle in Alice's blue-green eyes.

"Mmm, I guess we'll have to wait till the Halloween party, huh, girls?" Serindra said with a laugh. The other girls agreed. Then Sandra walked over to the other side of the room, where Lily had accidentally left her costume. "Is this yours, Lily?" she asked.

"Oh, damn, I left it out when I was going to hide it," Lily said with a groan. Her costume, it turned out, was a fairy queen, and she was going to definitely look like one. She didn't want James to see what she was going to dress up as until the day in question. "Don't you dare tell James," she hissed at Alice and the other two.

"Our lips are sealed," Alice said and giggled. Lily looked confused while the other girls cracked up and tried to smother the giggles.

"Hilary Duff?" Lily asked, as Serindra shook her head in amusement.

"Yeah, you haven't heard that song for a while, have you?" Sandra said and looked rather disapproving, as the giggles grew louder.

----

_He's everything you want_

_He's everything you need_

_He's everything inside_

_That you wish you could be_

_He says all the right things_

_At exactly the right time_

_But he means nothing to you_

_And he don't know why_

Lily was in the Great Hall, listening to the music playing and turning down every person who asked her to dance, everyone but James, who had asked her to this stupid thing anyways.

I'm everything you want 

_I'm everything you need_

_I'm everything inside_

_That you wish you could be_

_I say all the right things_

_At exactly the right time_

_But I mean nothing to you _

_And I don't know why _

Doesn't know why is right, Lily thought as she walked to the middle of the room with James. He wasn't listening to the song, so he didn't see the conflict the song brought to Lily's thoughts.

She was wearing her Fairy Queen costume, with one accessory that Serindra and the rest of the girls had missed: a pair of butterfly wings. Her girlfriends had complimented her on her costume and even James had been slightly surprised, exactly the way she had wanted him to be. She looked up as the song changed. "I'd like to go sit down now," she said, on the spur of the moment. _Liar,_ she thought, _you would much rather keep dancing._ She ignored the voice however and said, her voice far stronger then she was feeling, "I really need to sit down."

"Okay," James agreed, again not noticing her conflicting emotions. He led her to the table they were sitting at, and decided to sit too. "Too many girls trying to get their hands on me," he explained, making Lily laugh. It wasn't mean, it was contagious and soon James was laughing too.

_Really, he's not such an arrogant idiot, _she found herself thinking. Stop it, she ordered herself silently. You're not supposed to think that. _Really? Then why are you blushing?_

Lily was getting tired of second-guessing herself, but nothing she told herself would make her stop. Her feelings were so messed up from that song, that she didn't know what else to think.

"Are you ok? You look annoyed," James said. Lily shook herself and tried to smile.

"No, I'm fine. Really, look at Sirius," she said, trying to change the subject before it got too deep, "Can he eat all that by himself?"

James shrugged. "He's eaten more then that before, so I'm guessing he can. Sometimes he reminds me of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo," and his expression grew mischievous, "just don't tell him I said that, he wouldn't appreciate it."

Lily made a zipping gesture with her hand and burst out laughing. James looked at her worriedly, wondering if she'd lost her mind. A few seconds later, Lily had calmed down enough to tell him what was so funny.

"You were trying to surprise me with your costume? Why?" James asked, when she told him about it.

Lily shrugged. She didn't want to get into it. James kept persisting, but nothing could drag it out of her. "Are you ready to dance again?" she asked as the band started playing one of her favorite songs.

"Sure, why? I was just waiting for you," James said with another of his killer smiles. I doubt that he knew that he was making one girl slowly die when he did it.

**Sorry it took me so long to update, I've been pretty busy. I promise to have chapter up sometime this week. I've just got to add some things to it. That song isn't mine, it's Vertical Horizons, and I don't own the Harry Potter characters. For all I care, J.K. Rowling can have my characters too. Thanks to all who reviewed, now here's a question for you to answer: should I keep going into seventh year or write another fic? Just let me know, thanks again!**

**Serindraxx**


	11. Halloween dance Con

**A/N: sorry about this chapter, but I had to have it written before the weekend. Let me know what you think, please! And thanks to all who reviewed. Thanks for your opinions.**

"**Sure, why? I was just waiting for you," James said with another of his killer smiles. I doubt that he knew that he was making one girl slowly die when he did it.**

Lily looked up. James was Soooo close. She could almost feel the heat radiating off of him. "Please don't. You make me uncomfortable," she complained. James blinked.

"Why not?" he asked, as they walked off the dance floor.

"Uh," Lily hesitated. Why didn't she want him to? She wondered. She shrugged. "Let's go for a walk, ok?" She grabbed her wrap and headed toward the doors.

James followed her. They walked in companionable silence for five minutes, then, Lily stopped by the lake's edge. "It's so beautiful at night," she sighed.

I agree, but for other reasons, James thought. He wisely kept that thought to himself.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and turned around to look at him. There it was again. Her heart beating, feeling as though it might jump out of her chest.

What the hell is wrong with me? She wondered hazily. Why does he have such an effect on me?

James watched her, seeing the conflict in her eyes as she tried to deny her thoughts. He leaned in and kissed her cheek softly, as though he were afraid she would shatter to a million pieces with the slightest pressure.

She raised a shaking hand to her cheek, feeling it burn as she blushed slightly.

"Do you still hate me?" he asked softly, quietly. She shook her head, feeling rather dazed and confused.

"Good," he replied. He wrapped his arms around her waist, gently. She looked up. God was he tall! She blushed harder as he looked down at her admiringly. Her heart skipped a beat. Serindra and the rest of the girls were right, she thought as he kissed her. Sweetly. Her arms rose and she wrapped them around his neck.

Meanwhile….

Serindra was getting impatient. They should have gone outside by now, but Lily looked rather disconcerted and Serindra didn't know why.

Then, as Serindra started to get _very_ frustrated, the two of them stopped dancing and walked outside. They didn't know that they were being watched by most of the female population.

Remus walked over and put his hand on Serindra's shoulder comfortingly. "Things are going smoother then we thought, eh?" he asked her. She nodded.

"Yep, that's for sure, do you think we should go outside?"

Remus looked at the doors and shook his head. "At least not right now," he said firmly. Serindra agreed.

Sirius turned up at that minute, with a plateful of food and grinned at the two of them. "Sarah got mad at me for not dancing with her, but I was hungry," he explained as Serindra opened her mouth. She giggled.

"Sarah doesn't dance anyway. So I don't see why she's bothered," she said. Sirius looked affronted.

"Why shouldn't she, as I'm the handsomest—" he began, but was cut off by Remus.

"Drop it, Padfoot," he said through clenched teeth. Sirius grinned.

"Why?" he asked as Sandra turned up with Alice and Frank in tow behind her.

"Not in front of the newcomers," Remus said very firmly.

"What's going on? We saw James and Lily head outside," Alice whispered to Serindra as she watched Remus and Sirius bicker.

"Sirius and Remus are bickering over whether Sirius is handsome or not and Lily was looking rather disconcerted before they went outside," Serindra whispered back. Alice nodded in understanding.

"So are you guys going outside now or in a couple minutes?" Sandra asked, looking rather amused, as Remus and Sirius stopped arguing enough to hear.

"No, we are not interrupting James and Lily's moments alone, I've already said this," Remus said heatedly.

"Ok, ok, no need to get annoyed, just thought I'd ask. Jeez," Sandra muttered. "What time did you go to sleep last night, anyways?"

"One o' clock, why?" Remus responded, looking at Sirius as though he were the reason.

"Never mind, Remus," said Serindra as she looked at her watch, "Guys, do you think we should go outside now?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Remus said shrugging, still glaring at Sirius. So they went outside.

The six of them decided to walk down by the lake, Alice, Frank, Remus, Serindra, Sirius and Sandra. As they walked along the lake's edge, they spied two people walking along together as well. Then the two ahead stopped walking. "You know, this doesn't look like something we want to walk into, especially if those two are who I think they are," said Serindra with a smirk.

----

Lily came up to the girls' dormitory about three in the morning, and she collapsed on her bed fully clothed.

"Soooo, did you enjoy your night with James, Lils?" Serindra asked sleepily. Lily blushed. She hadn't known that she wasn't the only person awake.

"Why?" she asked rolling over. She secretly hoped that no one had seen her and James, especially his fan club.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about it, except for maybe Sirius, Remus, and the rest of the girls in the morning," Serindra continued. Then, she rolled over and fell asleep.

Lily's POV

Oh, God, am I embarrassed. I thought everyone was asleep. Guess I was wrong. Ah, well.

General POV

Lily rolled over to her left side, and fell asleep. As she did, James was lying in bed, thinking.

As Sirius snored without a thought to bother him, James was thinking about what had happened between Lily and him-self. His memory was still rather fresh, no matter how much he tried to ignore it.

Flashback 

"_LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted. She'd taken out her wand, and was pointing it at the two boys._

"_Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," James said, eying the wand._

"_Take the curse off him, then!" _

_James sighed and turned to mutter the counter-curse. "There you go, you're lucky that Evans was here."_

"_I don't need help from filthy Mudbloods like her!" _

_Lily just blinked and said coolly, "Fine, I won't bother in future." She turned to walk away._

"_Apologize to Evans!" James roared._

_Lily turned to him. "I don't want you to make him apologize, you're as bad as he is!" she shouted._

"_What? I would never call you a—you-know-what!" James yelped._

Present

Yes, things definitely had improved between them, he thought as he fell asleep. Definitely.

**A/N: thanks again to all who reviewed. I'm really considering continuing through seventh year! Thanks a lot.**

**Serindraxx**


	12. Caught in the middle?

A/N: sorry for taking a long time to update, but I had such a bad case of writers' block that I had to work on something else for a while. Plus, I'm doing two skits, one tomorrow and the other on Tuesday. I've had to work on memorizing my parts, so I haven't had much time to update anything.

The morning after the Halloween dance, Lily was sitting in the common room, reading a book. She heard a clatter on the boys' stairs, and turned around.

"What the hell are you doing, Potter?" she asked through gritted teeth. She regretted her snapping question for about half a minute, but then changed her mind at James' statement.

"Oh, now I'm 'Potter'?" he snapped. "So, you just ignored that feeling last night? You don't give a damn about that kiss? God, was I stupid!" He took to his heels and ran back up the stairs, a hurt look in his hazel eyes.

'What'd I do this time?' Lily thought as she went back to her book. Damn, she was so frustrated with herself. Sure, she was ignoring what happened last night, but on account of the fact that she probably wouldn't be able to handle it if James went back to hexing students just because he could. Damn, damn, damn! She hated this feeling of helplessness in James' arms. "Ahh, damn!" she muttered, and threw her book on the couch.

* * *

James was pacing the dormitory he shared with the rest of the Marauders, thinking…

He kicked at a pile of clothes on the floor. "Who the hell does she think she is?" he muttered viciously under his breath. "I was so wrong about her. Damn, I can't believe she does this to me."

"Uh, Prongs, is this perhaps a bad time to come in here?" Sirius asked anxiously, Remus and Peter looking worriedly over his shoulder.

"Sure, come in. Tell me, have you seen Lady Evans?" James said casually, putting his hands in his pants pockets.

"Sure, I've seen her. She was taking a walk by the lake. Why?"

James' eyes grew wide against his will. She hadn't been ignoring her feelings! Damn, now it _was_ complicated. What a hell of a fool he'd been!

"James, you better not do anything you'll regret later," Remus warned, "Lily looked pretty upset, and she looked rather confused. Keep your distance, or you'll make it even worse."

"Keep that up, Moony, and you'll make it even worse for yourself. I'll be right down to breakfast," James said over his shoulder on his way down the stairs.

"Did he even listen to me?" Remus asked Sirius, his brows furrowed in confusion.

Sirius shrugged. "I have no clue, Moony, but he seemed to be rather anxious to get outside."

* * *

Lily looked up at the sound of her name, and seeing it was James, she stiffened and kept walking. "Lily, for god's sake, wait up!" James pleaded, seeming to float instead of run. "James, I really don't want to hear anymore of your trash, so, if you still want your vital organs, stay at least ten feet away from me in future," Lily snapped over her shoulder, sensing James slowing down. "What—what the hell is wrong with you? Oh, god. I can't believe you!" he said tensely, and Lily turned around. "Can't believe what? Me? Well, you know I can't believe you! You really don't know my dilemma, do you?" she asked, her voice low, with soft regret written all over her face. James shook his head, and Lily sighed. "My dilemma is you, James. I try to ignore you but you keep on dragging me in the center of things. I don't _want_ to be in the center of things! I can't decide whether I trust this side of you that I discovered last night, or if you'll go back to your 'I'm just too clever for you' attitude. I sometimes think you're far too arrogant for your own good, and then I think you changed. Please, just give me some room to discover whether I trust you and make my mistakes, or if I think you'll never grow up!" Lily tried not to look as though she was confused, but couldn't do it. She burst into tears and turned her body away in mortification. She felt James come closer to her and she walked off toward the castle. --

"James, what did you do to Lily?" Remus asked as he watched Lily, who was sitting at the end of the table by herself.

"Nothing, why?" James questioned with his mouth half-full.

"James, watch it!" Sirius yelled, making people stare. "Oops, sorry," he said delicately. James grinned.

"James, what did you do to Lily?" asked a voice behind them. It was Serindra.

"I didn't do anything. She went into a strange speech, and I couldn't understand a thing she said."

"Yeah, whatever. She's not talking to anyone, even her friends. So, what did you do?"

James looked irritated. "I didn't do a damn thing," he growled defensively. Remus looked scandalized and Sirius looked appreciative. Serindra shrugged.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. You always say that even though it's mostly your fault," she said, shaking her head. She walked back down the table, flipping her hair at the Ravenclaw end. Sirius looked scandalized, his mouth hanging open.

"Sirius, what is your problem, hmm?" Remus questioned, making Sirius close his mouth while he figured out the answer. Then, he shrugged. "I haven't the slightest idea, Moony," he said after a while.

"Well, Prongs, did you do something to Lily?" Remus asked, turning to James. James sighed.

"Fine, I snapped at her in the common room, she took it harshly, while I felt angry, and then we talked outside. She asked me to give her room for mistakes, and she refused to look at me after that," James said in a rush, not pausing for breath, while looking in Lily's direction.

Lily had been looking down the table at him, but when he looked at her, she was staring moodily at her breakfast. 'What is with him?' she wondered, thinking about last night.

'What is with her?' James wondered at the same time, also thinking about last night.

'What is with them?' Remus, Sirius, Serindra, Sandra, and Alice wondered, thinking about the scene they'd walked into.

A/N: thanks for all the reviews I got for the last chapter, I appreciate it! Let me know if anything should be changed or what should happen next chapter! Thanks again!

Serindraxx


	13. Confusing all around

**A/N: this chapter has been written for some time, but I was never sure I liked it. Then, after chapter twelve, I didn't think it worked. But you tell me.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you see here. The songs aren't mine (although I wish they were), and neither are the characters.**

**Last chapter: **

**Lily had been looking down the table at him, but when he looked at her, she was staring moodily at her breakfast. 'What is with him?' she wondered, thinking about last night.**

'**What is with her?' James wondered at the same time, also thinking about last night.**

'**What is with them?' Remus, Sirius, Serindra, Sandra, and Alice wondered, thinking about the scene they'd walked into.**

It was almost Christmas time, and nearly everyone had gone to enjoy a final Hogsmeade trip, before the end of semester. Only one person, or so she thought, was going to stay at the school for Christmas. Her parents were going out of town for some business engagement they'd had planned. Lily Evans would either be staying at Hogwarts or go spend the Christmas break with Petunia. She chose to stay at Hogwarts rather than with her sister.

Lily looked out of the window. She was ecstatic when she saw the snow on the ground. She was sixteen and still loved playing and making snow angels in the snow. She looked at the book in her hand and decided to go put snow clothes on. As she walked up the stairway she nearly ran into James, who was coming down. She was curious to know why he wasn't out with his friends in Hogsmeade. He looked at her in surprise. "Sorry, Lily," he said, trying to keep her from falling. She was shocked and it showed, she knew. She felt a blush rise up on her cheeks, and hid her face behind her long red hair.

"What's the matter? Why are you blushing?" James asked in concern. Lily raised her eyes and smiled at him. She stepped back and half-walked, half-ran up the girls' staircase. _What is going with me?_ She wondered as she looked at the mirror. This was certainly not her, what had caused her to blush like that? She never blushed. Never. Okay, just pretend this never happened. No, that wouldn't work. What the heck was wrong with her? She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She turned half around, looking for her winter clothes. Not seeing them, she walked over to her trunk.

There they were. Hanging on her four-poster. She grabbed them and walked to the bathroom. Ten minutes later, she was dressed and ready to play outside. As she walked down the steps, she spotted James reading the book she'd abandoned. Reading it! She tried not to make too much noise, but something caught James' attention. He looked up. She held her breath for what felt like a whole ten minutes before James moved at all. He was busy taking in her snowsuit and made her feel uncomfortable. "Hmm, red works well with your hair, Lils," he said finally, teasing her lightly. She let out her pent-up breath on a sigh of relief.

"Well, that's possibly the only color that does work with it, seeing as that's my hair color," she responded, grinning too. James shook his head in mock shock.

"She actually has a sense of humor," he muttered, just loud enough for her to hear. She pushed him over, and they both landed on the floor. She blushed as she realized she was on top of him. She braced herself, and stood up.

James looked rather dazed by their short contact, but he smiled at her. Lily felt her heart beating terribly fast against her rib cage. _What is wrong with me?_ She wondered silently. _This is James we're talking about. Though come to think about it, he is rather hot. Where the hell did that come from?_ Her thoughts continued in this vein for about ten minutes, as she walked out into the cold winter afternoon.

"Hey, Evans!" James called, and Lily turned around. She got a snowball full in the face.

"James Potter, what the hell was that for?" she shrieked as she wiped the snow from her face. James was teasing her, and she knew it. But did he have to act all innocent?

"I thought you had a sense of humor, Evans. So what's wrong with me throwing a snowball at you?" James taunted her, teasing in his tone.

Lily didn't answer, just threw a snowball back at him. This started a snowball fight, ending when Lily got snow in her ear and James had some down his neck. They went back to the common room to get warm by the fireplace.

"So, what are you doing for Christmas?" James asked, as the sky got darker outside.

Lily shrugged, making no comment. James took her silence well. "Well," he said huskily in her ear, "You could stay at my parents' house."

Lily felt rather disconcerted. She looked at him, a look of surprise on her face, and in her pretty green eyes. "They wouldn't mind, would they?" she asked quietly.

James grinned. "Sure, they won't mind," he told her.

Lily felt confused. 'What is going on with me?' she thought. She could feel James' breath on her cheek. She didn't look at him, but her cheeks burned and she felt the blush rising on her neck.

She stared at the fire for a few minutes, then, she couldn't stand it anymore. She looked at James and he kissed her gently. She hadn't been this close to him since the Halloween Ball, or the day after when she'd told him to give her room for mistakes. Boy, was she still embarrassed by that outburst. She hadn't meant to say that, not at all. She didn't want to chase James away again, but she didn't know why. Her heart obviously knew but her head refused to cooperate.

--

_Somewhere there's speaking_

_It's already coming in_

_Oh and it's rising at the back of your mind_

_You never could get it_

_Unless you were fed it_

_Now you're here and you don't know why _

_But under skinned knees and the skid marks_

_Past the places where you used to learn_

_You howl and listen_

_Listen and wait for the_

Echoes of angels who won't return 

Lily was listening to the radio she had charmed to work on the school grounds. Thinking about the words of the song and James at the same time.

_He's everything you want_

_He's everything you need_

_He's everything inside of you_

_That you wish you could be_

_He says all the right things_

_At exactly the right time_

_But he means nothing to you_

_And you don't know why _

_You're waiting for someone_

_To put you together_

_You're waiting for someone to push you away_

There's always another wound to discover 

_There's always something more you wish he'd say_

She sat bolt upright. This was the song she'd danced to with James at the Halloween Ball. She had felt a weird sensation then, but it was nothing to how she felt now.

She felt lonely, but she hadn't realized that was what she had been feeling. With James around she felt whole, as if the part that had been missing was back in place.

_He's everything you want_

_He's everything you need_

_He's everything inside of you_

_That you wish you could be_

_He says all the right things_

_At exactly the right time_

_But he means nothing to you_

_And you don't know why_

_But you'll just sit tight_

_And watch it unwind_

_It's only what you're asking for_

_And you'll be just fine_

_With all of your time_

_It's only what you're waiting for_

How come she'd never noticed it before? Why had she begun to second-guess her feelings for him without realizing it?

_Out of the island_

_Into the highway_

_Past the places where you might have turned_

_You never did notice_

_But you still hide away_

_The anger of angels who won't return _

_He's everything you want_

_He's everything you need_

_He's everything inside of you_

_That you wish you could be_

_He says all the right things_

_At exactly the right time_

_But he means nothing to you_

_And you don't know why_

_I am everything you want_

_I am everything you need_

_I am everything inside of you_

_That you wish you could be_

_I say all the right things_

_At exactly the right time_

_But I mean nothing to you and I don't know why_

_And I don't know why_

_Why_

I don't know 

At first, she was relaxing against the tree-trunk, but she heard her name called and stood up, stretching.

James looked first at her, then at the enchanted radio, which was now playing 'holding out for a hero.' **(A/N: I'm not sure if that's how you do titles of songs in fanfics, so bear with me here LOL**)

"What _were _you doing, Lils?" he asked curiously. He looked unsure of what to do, and Lily didn't know what she wanted to do, but it seemed natural to her that she take the first step. Which she happily did. James seemed even more unsure of what to do, but he also seemed to relax and smiled at her.

_Where have all the good men gone_

_And where are all the gods?_

Where's the street-wise Hercules 

_To fight the rising odds?_

'Good, at least he's not angry with me,' Lily thought. She smiled and stepped back. She answered him calmly. "Just listening to the radio. Why?"

_Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?_

_Late at night toss and turn and dream of what I need _

"Because," James started, looking worried, "I was wondering whether you'd dance with me."

_I need a hero_

_I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night_

He's gotta be strong 

_And he's gotta be fast_

And he's gotta be fresh from the fight 

Lily giggled. "Why would you think that I wouldn't, hmm?"

_I need a hero_

_I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light_

_He's gotta be sure_

_And it's gotta be soon_

_And he's gotta be larger than life_

James sighed in relief. He stood up, and helped Lily up after him. He pulled her close and she went willingly.

_Somewhere after midnight_

_In my wildest fantasy_

_Somewhere just beyond my reach_

_There's someone reaching back for me_

_Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat_

_It's gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet_

He twirled her around, and Lily laughed in exhilaration. What the two of them didn't know was that they were being watched.

_I need a hero_

_I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night_

_He's gotta be strong_

_And he's gotta be fast_

And he's gotta be fresh from the fight 

Serindra, Alice, and Sandra watched James and Lily, a smug look on their faces. "You think they realized what we've known for a while?" Sandra asked quietly. The other two just shrugged and silenced her.

_I need a hero_

_I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light_

_He's gotta be sure_

_And it's gotta be soon_

And he's gotta be larger than life 

"Okay, stop! Stop!" Lily said, trying to catch her breath. James sat down on the grass, and leaned against the tree. "What exactly are we listening to?" he asked, curiously.

_Up where the mountains meet the heavens above_

_Out where the lightning splits the sea_

_I would swear that there's someone somewhere_

_Watching me_

_Through the wind and the chill and the rain_

_And the storm and the flood_

_I can feel his approach_

_Like the fire in my blood_

Lily decided to turn off the radio before another of her favorite songs came on and showed James what she really thought of him.

"Why'd you turn it off?"

Lily just shrugged. "It's just my favorite song, that's all."

"Really? Then why are you blushing?" James asked casually.

A/N: sorry if you were expecting something else, but I've had this chapter written out for a while, and after last chapter, I didn't know what to do. Like it? Hate it? Please tell me. And I'll try to see if I can help you understand the chapter. It's kind of confusing, isn't it? But anyways, please review!


	14. Christmas with the Potters

**A/N: sorry it's taken so long to update, but I had killer writers' block. Thanks to Saphra, Carmel March, and Lady of the Rogue for reviewing. If there's anyone I missed, thanks a lot. To those who didn't review, I really need your input on the story, so please review, review, review!**

**To anyone confused on last chapter, it's still Christmas time; Lily just used a charm to get rid of the snow around the tree. Besides, that chapter had already been written out, I just added more to it. I hadn't had any intention of placing songs in that chapter. It just happened. **

**But I will try to update sooner, depending really on how many reviews I get for this chapter.**

**Carmel March: Thanks so much for complimenting me. I do try :) **

**Lady of the Rogue: the songs were just last minute additions. Thank you though. :)**

**On with chapter fourteen, (Holy cow, we're that far already? Wow!)**

**Disclaimer: I have no intention of stealing Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it, not me.**

* * *

Chapter fourteen: Christmas with the Potters

At Christmas break, a girl with red hair blowing in the chill wind was climbing aboard the train in Hogsmeade, heading to a place she never thought she'd want to go.

James had been delighted that she'd decided to come with him.

"I'm letting my parents know right now," he'd stated, excitement in his voice. He sounded like an impatient twelve-year-old, something that Lily found delightful. She didn't understand why, though. Maybe… no it was impossible. She couldn't be falling in love with him, could she?

Now, she was on the train, actually having second thoughts about her abrupt decision.

"What's the matter, Lily?" James asked in concern, curious about her mood and why she wasn't talking like she always did.

"Mmm, oh, just thinking," Lily responded absently, which she was really doing.

Flash Back

**I need a hero**

**I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light**

**He's gotta be sure**

**And it's gotta be soon**

**And he's gotta be larger than life**

"_Okay, stop! Stop!" Lily said, trying to catch her breath. James sat down on the grass, and leaned against the tree. "What exactly are we listening to?" he asked, curiously._

**Up where the mountains meet the heavens above**

**Out where the lightning splits the sea**

**I would swear that there's someone somewhere**

**Watching me**

**Through the wind and the chill and the rain**

**And the storm and the flood**

**I can feel his approach** **Like the fire in my blood**

_Lily decided to turn off the radio before another of her favorite songs came on and showed James what she really thought of him._

"_Why'd you turn it off?"_

_Lily just shrugged. "It's just my favorite song, that's all."_

"_Really? Then why are you blushing?" James asked casually._

_Lily felt her cheeks. She hadn't known she was blushing. Not until James had told her, that is. _

"_So, why are you blushing?" James repeated. _

_Lily didn't want to say anything, but she sighed. "James…" she started to say, but James cut her off, kissing her gently to shush her. She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and tangling her fingers in his hair. She smiled against his mouth as he wrapped his arms around her waist. _

End of flash back 

"Well, what were you thinking about?" James asked curiously. Lily pretended to shove him into the door, but laughed and answered, "Remember yesterday before the Christmas holidays?" When James nodded, she said, "That's what I was thinking about."

"And what exactly is it you were thinking about Lils?" James asked, moving over in his seat.

Lily blushed, but said, "I was actually thinking about the kiss. It's been running through my mind for the past few hours." She stopped talking for a few minutes, looking out the window. But she turned her green eyes to him again, noticing, with a bit of shock and excitement, that he was just close enough now to touch her.

"Is that so, Ms. Redhead?" James asked huskily in her ear, sending a jolt of electricity down her spine. She shook with laughter against him, and threw her arms around his neck to hold herself up off the seat.

"Yes, that's exactly so, kind sir," she responded, and he kissed her on the mouth, his tongue sliding against her lips. She opened her mouth hungrily, and his tongue almost glided against hers, making their blood pressure rise, and their breath uneven.

They both came up for air at the same time. Lily's heart was beating hard against her rib cage. James was trying to slow his breathing. They had never gotten that deep into a kiss and it shocked both of them, to the point where they just sat speechless, staring at opposite ends of the carriage, lost in their own thoughts. Until Sirius, Remus and Peter walked in, that is.

Hm-hmm, Remus cleared his throat, making James and Lily jump.

"Moony, what are you doing here?" James asked, jumping up and clearing a spot for the newcomers.

Remus laughed, "What do you think I'm doing here, Prongs? I'm not setting off dung bombs in the corridors, if that's what you're thinking. Actually," and he gave Lily a funny look, "I'm going to my parents house for the holidays. What are you doing here, Lils?"

James answered for her, seeing the uncomfortable look on her face. "She's going to spend the holidays with us Potters. So are you planning anything special this year, or can you come over the last few days of break?"

He was directing the conversation to the point where Lily could look normal, or at least try to act normal. And she was happy with the diversion.

She tuned in, in time to hear Remus' plans, "Actually, I have no clue what our plans are, but I'll owl you when I find out," Remus was promising. But James wasn't listening. He was looking at Sirius, who hadn't taken his eyes off Lily since James had said she was going to the Potters' house.

"So, you finally cracked, eh, Lilykins?" Sirius said, getting a glare from Lily.

"Don't -- ever -- call -- me -- Lilykins," she breathed, venomously, making Sirius look very nervous. He looked at Remus for help but all he got was an "It's your own fault" look. He turned his eyes to Peter, but got, "No thanks, I'd rather not get involved," higher than a squeak.

James laughed. "You'll never learn, Padfoot, old pal, will you?" he said, managing to keep a straight face, while Sirius glared at him.

"Some friends you all are," Sirius muttered. "Friends are supposed to stick to each other and help out when they can."

James rolled his eyes. "And you are? Let me see, there was the one time that I got in trouble with Evans here," he nodded his head in her direction, which Lily took to mean, 'no offence.' "And got a month's detention, while you laughed, saying that she had a major problem with me. And there was another time…" but he got cut off by Sirius, who had made a noise between impatience and disgust.

"OK, OK, I get the point, now can we get back to the conversation, please? What did you do to get her to come in the first place? Bribe her?"

"No, I did not 'bribe her,' as you say. She didn't want to go to her house and stay with her bratty sister, so I offered to let her stay at my house. Is that okay?" James practically snarled at Sirius.

Sirius shrugged. "Whatever, mate. Whatever you say."

Remus was looking between James and Sirius, shaking his head in exasperation. Lily giggled behind her hand; she was very amused by the way James was protecting her. He was her knight in shining armor, she realized with a pang, and her poor mind started running in circles. Since when had James been her knight in shining armor? He had been too annoying to change her heart this quick.

"Lily, are you around?" Lily shook her head, and realized that Remus, Sirius and Peter had vanished, leaving her alone with James again.

"Yeah, I'm around, just thinking is all," she responded.

"Again! Now what are you thinking about?" James asked. But Lily shook her head.

"You wouldn't really believe it anyways, so I won't say anything. Not right this minute." And she stuck to that, no matter what James threatened her with. He tried tickling her, but that was not as affective as he thought it would be. He tried taking her book away, but she snatched it right back, laughing at James and his attempts to get her to spill the secret she was harboring.

She shook her finger at him in a seductive way, which made her shy away from her feelings and thoughts. She had already learned Occlumency, very useful in hiding her feelings and thoughts so no one could read her. That was how Alice didn't even know.

* * *

The train slowed down in front of Godric's Hollow, where James lived with his parents. As she hopped out, Lily looked up at the Potter mansion in awe. It's Soooo huge, she thought, looking at the grounds. James came up behind her, making her jump, feeling his breath on the side of her neck.

"Chill, it's just me," he said, laughter in his voice, making her think he meant to scare her. She turned around, almost face to face with him, but she still had to look up to see his face.

"James Potter, Lily Evans, are you just going to stand on the door step or are you going to come inside?" came a female voice through the open doorway.

James, seeing the look on Lily's face, explained, "It's just my mum, don't worry, she does this all the time," and shrugged, as though to say that the subject was done and over with.

Then, he yelled through the door, "Coming, Mum!" and, grabbing his and Lily's baggage, which, surprisingly, wasn't all that heavy, lead Lily into his house.

She was shocked at how enormous the place was, and told James that much later. All he did was laugh and explained that his mum went all out when it came to furnishings. He shook his head. "I can't believe what we buy every year. It's such an odd investment, but my dad says that we only do that so my mum can be social and have rich folks over."

Anyways, Lily finally met Mrs. Potter, who had heard a lot about her from James, and was instantly reminded of her own mum. Just thinking about her mum made tears well up in her eyes. Now was not the time to start crying, and she wiped her eyes on her shirt-sleeve, making it very discreet. But James noticed, and decided to wait to ask her about it.

* * *

"James, show Lily where to put her things and get washed for dinner," Mrs. Potter ordered, making James grumble good naturedly, but he did what she told him.

He motioned Lily to follow him and headed up the stairs. Lily was amazed by the enormity of the place, and James turned his head as a sob reached his ears. Lily was crying.

"What's the matter, Lils?" he asked as she tried to hide her tears.

"I- I don't k-know," she sobbed, and stopped walking. James gave her a hug, which she clung to, and he tilted her chin upward.

"Please stop crying, sweetheart. It breaks my heart when you do," he whispered softly in her ear, making her shiver in his arms.

"James…" she whispered back, but he cut her off with his mouth and her hand lifted to his neck, holding her up.

"JAMES POTTER! Get down here and set the table!" Mrs. Potter yelled up the stairs, jerking the couple apart guiltily.

"Yeah, we better head downstairs, James," Lily said with a grin, but she wasn't feeling all that happy. Ugh, interrupted! She would probably never get the chance to do that again for a while.

**A/N: so what do you think? Sorry if you were expecting something else, but I had major writers' block and couldn't think of anything for this chapter. Anyways, thanks again to my reviewers and please review this chapter if you feel inclined to, which I hope most of you will, having waited so long for the next chapter.**

**Serindraxx **


	15. a confrontation and a kiss lol

**A/N: sorry about the slight delay in between this chapter and chapter fourteen. But I wasn't here for two weeks and I had writers' block. Well I hope you enjoy this chapter because I enjoyed writing it. Thanks to all who reviewed, sorry I couldn't reply to them all.**

As James and Lily walked down the stairs, James was thinking of what he and Lily did, and wishing that they had had about two more minutes and that his mum had chosen to call then. But no, he was stuck setting the table, as he always did when guests were over.

"Hey, Lily, want to go for a walk when I'm through here?" he asked suddenly over his shoulder.

Lily jumped, but answered with, "Sure, where are we going?"

James grinned mischievously. "You'll see."

--

"James, where are you taking me?" Lily whined behind him.

"Somewhere secret," was all he answered with.

"Can you please give me a hint?"

"Nope, you'll have to wait and figure it out on your own," James answered with a slight grin.

Lily started to look around her, but whenever she stopped to take a closer look, James would pull her along. She finally gave up on it.

"Here we are," said James suddenly, coming to an abrupt halt. Lily nearly ran into him.

"A - a playground?"

"Not exactly a playground, whatever that is, it's my hiding spot where no one can find me,only Sirius knows about it," James explained, running agitated fingers through his already messed up hair.

"Hmmm…" Lily replied, taking in the sight in front of her.

"What are you thinking about now, Lils?" James asked, coming to stand in front of her, not sure whether to hug her or just let her be. But Lily took care of that decision for him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up at him. "You know…"She started to say, but thought better of it.

"What?" James asked her.

"Nothing; never mind."

"Oh please?" James asked her while tickling her sides, so that she collapsed against him, breathless with laughter.

"Oooooooo, James, stop it; that tickles!" Lily complained, not very easy when you're being tickled mercilessly.

"That's what it's supposed to do, sweetheart," James exaggerated.

Lily managed to get out of his grasp, and ran toward the far end of the playground, but wasn't fast enough. James came up behind her and they both fell to the ground, laughing.

James suddenly sobered, because Lily was on top of him. She looked down at him curiously, but he ignored it and leaned upward, closing his eyes. Lily let him kiss her and responded when his tongue slid across her lower lip.

His tongue invaded her mouth and she nearly groaned at the feel of him. She never wanted the kiss to end, but it did, and she didn't like it. She was mad at herself and her reaction to him, she'd promised herself she'd never fall for him, and she'd broken it.

James let his head fall back to the ground while he looked up at Lily. Her eyes were closed and her lips were moving but no sound came out. It was heaven to have her so close to him, but he didn't tell her that, afraid of scaring her away.

Lily started noticing something odd. James was underneath her and he'd started to either scoot up or push her off of him. She decided to make it easier for him and rolled off. "Was this all you wanted to show me or is there something else?" she questioned him.

"Uh… yeah, there's more," James answered sounding flustered.

"Then, lead me to it," Lily answered cheerfully, pulling James up.

James started walking, well actually swaggering, but Lily started smiling. 'And that, my friend,' she thought, 'is why you should never have fallen in love with him.'

--

When they reached James' place again, Lily was pretty exhausted, and said she was turning in early.

"Why? We don't usually go to bed till eleven here, Lils," James said. Lily rolled her eyes.

"I have my reasons," she said calmly, a smile teasing her lips.

"Ugh, she has her own reasons and that's never a good thing," James teased her, his eyes showing mischief. Lily pretended to ignore him, but turned her head away so that he didn't see her smile.

She started to climb the stairs behind her, walking backward the whole time.

--

Lily was sitting up in her bed, trying not to think. But she really had no choice. Her dream was still on the edge of reality and she was trying to decide whether or not she should bother James about it. The dream finally took hold of her thoughts and she decided to bug James.

She got up and put a dressing robe around her body, opened her bedroom door and walked down the silent hall. She opened James' door just as quietly as she had hers. She slipped through, and grinned to herself; James was asleep in his clothes, probably having forgotten to take them off.

"James," she whispered softly, moving into the bedroom, and standing at the foot of his bed.

James was awake instantly, though he was still a bit groggy. But he could tell something was bothering Lily. Or she would never have awakened him. "What's the matter, Lils?"

"Just one of my nightmares, but this one was so real. And it's scaring me, because I never have those kinds of dreams. Do you mind of I stay and talk to you?" Lily replied.

James patted a spot on his bed, and Lily sat down, but lay with her back against James's chest. James didn't do anything about it, but put his arms around Lily and lay with his head on the backboard. Lily started to breathe evenly, a sign she was asleep. James looked down at her face in the dark; and smiled before he, too, fell asleep.

--

Lily woke up, feeling comfortable, and opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a messy head, which was still asleep. She lifted her hand and pushed a bit of James's hair out of his eyes, and his eyes flickered open.

"'Morning, sweetheart, how'd you sleep last night?" he asked huskily. Lily felt her heart beating; why, though? He'd used that type of voice before, only he hadn't been half-asleep at the time.

"James, time to get up!"

Lily jumped. The voice of James's sister came through the shut door. James started laughing and, getting up, opened the bedroom door.

Lydia Potter jumped. "Lily, what are you doing in James' bedroom? I thought you were still in bed in the guest room!"

Lily started giggling. She looked at James and Lydia, seeing a distinct connection between the two, but in a sisterly fashion. "Yeah, I was, but I somehow managed to Apparate to James' room," she said, pretending to be very serious. Lydia looked at her curiously, wondering what was so funny and why Lily was acting so serious.

"I thought you didn't like James in that sense, Lily," Lydia said, putting one of her fingers in her mouth thoughtfully. Hmmm, something was not right here.

Lily froze. Damn, she was caught. "Uh, Lydia, can I speak to you for a minute alone?"

Lydia shrugged and walked out behind Lily. "Now what exactly do you want to talk to me about, Lily?" Obviously there is something important that Lily really needs to talk about or she wouldn't have asked me to come out here to talk _to_ her, Lydia thought, sitting on Lily's bed.

"Okay, knowing that you're a year younger than me makes things difficult. Knowing that you know something I don't makes it worse," Lily said, letting out a very long sigh and sitting at the desk chair, looking at the ceiling.

"First of all, I don't know something you don't; you haven't realized it yet, that's all. And second of all, being a year younger than you does not make things difficult, it makes things easier, and knowing that I go through the same things as you shows that I can help you through these things. Please believe me, Lils, because it's true, and you know it," Lydia replied. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly, but she was being serious about everything she had said.

And Lily realized that, no matter how she hid it, Lydia had noticed what no one else had.

A/N: um, it's odd because I don't have all that much to say, except thanks to Saphra, Puppyluva, and Carmel March for reviewing! Thank you, so much!

Serindraxx


	16. Caught in the act? Part 1

A/N: hmmm, well, I trust you all liked the little twist I added for the last chapter. Yes, James has a sister and Lily met her when Lydia started at Hogwarts. Lydia had been easy to like. Um, yeah, thanks to all of you who reviewed, even if it was two or three? Please Review!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything you see here, but I do wish I did!

--

When Mrs. Potter called everyone for breakfast, Lily was thoughtful as she headed down the stairs. What did Lydia mean? Was she serious? Damn, it was confusing. Then Lily asked herself a very important question: Was she in love with James Potter? She shook it off as soon as the question popped into her head, but her heart would not drop it.

"Lily, dear, are you there? Lydia asked you a question," Mrs. Potter interrupted her train of thought.

"Uh, I wasn't listening. Sorry," Lily apologized and tried without success to listen to Lydia's question, and then she decided to just go get a book and read for a little while.

As James watched her go, he contemplated the wisdom of following her. Probably not such a bad idea, he thought, and got up from the table. Everyone else was getting ready to head out the door, so it gave him cover.

He headed toward Lily's bedroom, just as she came down the hall. They collided, and James landed on the rug. He looked up into a pair of worried green eyes.

Lily looked down at him and then kneeled in front of him, feeling extremely worried. Then she realized that his hazel eyes were looking at her with a detached amusement, glinting mischievously, and her pulse jumped in her throat.

She pushed him playfully and he grabbed her hands. He levered himself upright so he could look her straight in the eye. "You can't do anything without your hands, huh, Lils?" he whispered. Lily shivered nervously at his voice. She wasn't sure why, though.

"James…" she started to say, but James hushed her gently with his mouth. Lily drew in a shattered breath, giving James full access to her soft mouth. She shuddered delicately, and James leaned back.

"Lils, you have nothing to fear from me, because I won't hurt you. Even if you think I will," he said with a sigh.

Lily looked at James and saw the sadness in his eyes. She didn't like that she had put it there. She leaned forward and closed the distance between their lips. James responded by pulling her against him and deepening the contact of their mouths.

Then, Lily was shocked into awareness with a tap on the head. She looked up and saw an owl fluttering above her, holding a piece of parchment in its legs. James looked up too, and grabbed the parchment as it fluttered into his lap. He unrolled it and scanned the words written on it. Lily looked over the end of the parchment and recognized Remus' handwriting.

"'James and, possibly, Lily,

Sirius, Peter and I will be over on the twenty-second. Alice has been writing to me. She said that she and Serindra, Sandra, and Sarah would be over on that day too. Just letting you know. Don't kill me, kay?

Remus'"

Lily read out loud, making James look at her. "Alice and the girls are coming over?" she asked incredulously, "Since when have Remus and Alice been writing to each other?"

"Um, since first year," James replied, clearing his throat nervously.

Lily looked at James with resigned eyes. "Okay, has anybody else been writing to you guys behind my back?"

"Serindra has been writing to Sirius and me for five years now, ever since she realized that I refused to stop asking you out," James said with a nervous chuckle, running his hand through his hair.

Lily studied him with a silent, thoughtful look on her face. He seemed almost tense, and she couldn't figure out why. Yeah, she would have accused him of being an arrogant jerk if she had known that Serindra was writing to him, but she didn't care at all now.

"James," she said softly, grabbing his hands and pulling them into his lap, "I don't care, really, I don't."

James looked at her with renewed hope in his eyes. He took a deep breath and stood up, giving Lily a hand to help her up too.

As Lily stood up, her eyes met James's and she got lost in the depths of them. She stood up in front of him and she felt safe. It was odd, because with James, she had always felt anger and annoyance.

And when James leaned down to brush his lips against hers, she felt a rightness she couldn't even begin to identify. But as the kiss deepened, the door on the right of where they stood creaked open. There was a slight gasp from within, and the couple broke apart.

James turned his head and realized who was in the doorway. He stepped away from the door and started toward his bedroom. Lily followed, reflective. Ooh, was she blushing? If she was, then she had better turn her attention to something – or someone –else.

--

When they reached James' room, Lily looked everywhere but at James' bed, where she had ended up asleep. James sat on the edge of his bed, crossing and uncrossing his legs agitatedly.

"James, would you please stop fidgeting? You're making me nervous," Lily whined, startling herself. She never whined and she never ever said that James was making her nervous. What was wrong with her?

"Uh, sure," James responded, running his hand roughly through his jet-black hair. He knocked his glasses askew, and then he felt a pair of warm hands on his face. He looked up, and realized that Lily was looking down at him with a slight twinkle in her eye.

He grabbed her waist and turned her onto her back. She looked at him warily, not sure what his intentions were. He leaned over her, felt her heart racing and saw the wariness in her eyes, knew he had put it there. He leaned down and met her lips with his, felt the small quiver running through her, and deepened the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, breathing the same breath he breathed. She shuddered, and James felt it. He lessened the pressure of the kiss, and helped Lily up.

She ran shaky hands through her hair, not sure what to do, not sure what to think. She stood up, and walked over to a desk chair.

--

A/N: sorry it took so long to update, but school started up again and I don't get to write fanfiction for schoolwork. Please let me know what you think! (And that's not a request!)

Serindraxx


	17. The Potters' Christmas Ball Pt1

A/N: so did you like the chapter? Cuz I certainly did. I don't much to say about this chapter and I'm not going to spoil it for you. Oh, but just so you know, Peter doesn't show up much in this chapter, he's gone most of the time, but the main reason that he's not, is because I don't like him lol sorry but it's true.

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Harry Potter but I sure wish I did.

--

Lily looked at James from across the room, where she felt relatively safe. She didn't have time to say anything, because an owl tapped on the window. James looked at Lily for a second, and then he opened the window.

The owl fluttered over Lily's head, and dropped a letter on her head. As she opened it, the owl fluttered out the open window.

Lily unfolded the parchment and gave a shout of joy. "Alice wrote to me," she said and started reading.

James read over her shoulder.

'Lily,

We all changed our minds and will be over later this afternoon. Hope that you are having a good time with James. (Hint, Hint) we'll see you later,

Alice.'

"How could they change their minds so fast? Unless they were holed up together," James stated, stretching. Lily looked up at him, thinking about what Alice had said.

As Lily stretched her back, she noticed that James was looking at her intently. Her heart started racing, but she crossed her arms over her chest in a way to control herself. It didn't work. What was he staring at? She looked down at her waist, where her shirt had lifted when she stretched. She started to blush.

James smiled reassuringly at her. It made Lily's heart beat harder and she tried to concentrate on what her thoughts of James were telling her.

Too bad James had moved closer. As she looked up at him, she saw something curious in his eye, but he didn't give time to analyze it. He leaned down and brushed his mouth over hers. She forgot everything she was thinking of and just gave herself up to the kiss. Until someone yelled upstairs, "Prongs, you here?"

Lily and James broke apart and looked at the door. What were they doing here early? James asked himself. But he went to the door and yelled down, "Yeah, I'm here. What are you doing here?"

There was a sound like Sirius had blown out his breath in exasperation. "We decided to come a little early. Is Lilykins with you?"

Lily stood up and opened the door wider. "Yes, I'm here, and didn't I tell you not to call me 'Lilykins'?"

Sirius started to cower, in the midst of Lily's anger. Remus and Peter watched, amused, and so did Lily's friends.

"This is even funnier than at school," Remus commented to Alice, who was standing next to him. Alice nodded. She was smiling at the look of shock on Sirius's face. Lily looked like she had just been kissed, and James looked annoyed that they had been interrupted.

As James and Lily headed downstairs, James grabbed her waist and pulled her against him, making her look at him. He bent his head and kissed her, a kiss she responded to. Sirius made a gagging noise, while Remus, Alice, Serindra, Sarah and Sandra smiled. Peter could have cared less. Remus whooped when James let go of Lily, which made Lily blush scarlet.

Alice and the rest of the girls catcalled, which made James _and_ Lily blush. Remus and Sirius laughed, but Peter disappeared. He was always disappearing these days, so they ignored it.

"Yep, they definitely found out what we've been telling them for a long time," Serindra whispered to Sandra and Alice, but not leaving Sarah out of the loop. Alice shushed her.

"Fine, whatever," Serindra huffed, "But this conversation is not over."

Alice waved an impatient hand at her, and Serindra vanished out of irritation.

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"But how do you know that she loves you, Prongs?" Sirius asked with concern as James finished his tale.

"I don't know that but I'm almost certain she might," James sighed. He was getting annoyed with Sirius and his questions. And he wondered how Lily was doing with her friends.

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"How do you know that he's not going to dump you like all the rest of the girls he goes out with?" Serindra questioned curiously, trying to delve into Lily's mind but finding a wall of resistance.

"Hmmm, let's see," Lily said sarcastically, "maybe because he's said it too many times while I've been here."

"But is that any proof?"

"Proof enough for me," Lily snarled, wondering when this interrogation was going to end.

And she got her wish about ten minutes later.

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As James and Lily sat listening to their friends' interrogation, Mrs. Potter was eaves-dropping on the tow of them. When she heard what Lily and James both said, she started smiling, a plan of action coursing through her mind.

She rushed off to speak with Lydia and her husband; because the time was about right for her annual Christmas ball.

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"James, dear, could you come here for a minute?" Mrs. Potter asked, making James sigh with relief.

"Be there in a second," he responded, getting a dirty look from Sirius as he stood up.

"Ok, son, your mum and I have been discussing when we should have the Christmas ball, and we decided that this week would be a wonderful time, seeing as you actually have a date that we approve of. But you will have to get something appropriate for her to wear, James," Mr. Potter said gruffly, looking at James with a twinkle in eyes that looked so like his son's.

James looked annoyed, disgusted and relieved all at the same moment. He shook his head at the fact that he hadn't gotten away from the Christmas ball, he'd started it a couple of days early.

"Wait," he said as the ball began to sink in, "how did you know that I needed rescuing at this precise moment?"

Mr. Potter looked amused while Mrs. Potter looked sheepish. "Well, your mum was listening at the door, trying to discover something as to matchmaking, apparently," Mr. Potter said with amusement and admiration in his voice.

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On to the ball… A/N: lol sorry but I've been thinking about this for a while now; have to get it over with soon ;)

Lily started picking at the dress James had taken her to get. She was trying to decide what to do with the sleeves, which could go over her shoulders or down the side. Alice had finally cracked under the pressure and told her to leave it alone she looked nice, making Lily glare at her.

"Sure, you're not worrying about the dress _you're_ wearing, because you're going stag, but I'm going with Potter, and I have every reason to be nervous," Lily said in annoyance, without looking around to see whether or not they were alone.

As it was, James was walking right behind them, Sirius with him. James stopped dead, hearing the word _stag_ and fearing the worst, Sirius stopped dead because he wanted to hear whether Lily liked James or not.

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A/N: okay, next chapter is going to have to be the ball, because I already did as many words as I normally do for a chapter. And I would like somebody to proofread my chapters from now on, for some reason I always have fragments. If you are interested, please leave me a review and a PM, thanks.

I have another question; have any of you seen Step Up? I own it hehe just thought I would ask

Serindraxx


	18. Christmas Ball Pt 2

A/N: not much to say here, except that I found a beta so yeah, anyways please review

Disclaimer: no I don't own this or the song no way!

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Lily started feeling uncomfortable with all the stares she was getting on the stairs. She was coming down the steps with James following close behind.

As she walked down, she felt James's breath on her neck. She would have turned her head, but then she heard the strains of a song in the ballroom.

_(Step Step Step Up)  
This is somethin for the radio  
(Step Step Step Up)  
This is somethin for the radio_

What is that? She wondered, thinking she hadn't heard it before. But as she listened closer, she realized it was from one of her favorite movies. _(A/N: okay, I know this is taking place in the 70's, and Step Up only came out in 2006, but there's nothing more fun than adding your favorite movies and such to a fanfic is there?)_

_(Step Step Step Up)  
This is somethin for the radio  
(Step Step Step Up) _

"Would you like to dance, Miss Evans?" James asked, smiling at her as the crowd started toward the floor.

"I would love to," Lily said, also smiling. She took a hold of James hands and practically dragged him out. Not that he would have resisted, he reflected wryly, feeling an attraction to the beautiful redhead like nothing he had felt before.

Lily felt as though she were floating on cloud nine, something that hadn't happened in a long time. Well, not since James had kissed her at any rate.

_Boy, no matter what we go through  
You step up I'll step up too  
It don't matter what the haters say  
As long as you are my boo_

On the other side of the room, Sirius, Remus, Sarah and Alice were watching with smiles on their faces. Well, Sarah, Remus and Alice were smiling; Sirius was stuffing his face with a lot of different types of food.

As the three young adults watched, James pulled Lily into a twirl, making her face light up.

"I know that I have a boyfriend already, but that is the most romantic thing I ever saw," Alice sighed, brushing her hair out of her face.

_And no matter how hard it gets  
This love will have no regrets  
As long as when we steppin on the dance floor It's me and you_

Meanwhile…

Mrs. Potter was watching her son and his _friend_ dance on the floor to one of Lily's favorite songs. She shook her head. Lily really was wearing her heart on her sleeve. The only people who should see it were blind; like her son, for instance. She smiled at the couple on the dance-floor, where Lily was looking at James with rapt attention.

Sometimes I wonder about him, she thought as the couple danced as though they were the only two in the room.

_Feel the rhythm of the beat, that's my heart  
Cupid shot me with the arrow from the start  
And you know that it's your love that's got me trapped_

Well, Mrs. Potter was right about two things: 1) Lily was definitely wearing her heart on her sleeve. 2) And James wasn't aware of it; something his mum was right about.

But as Lily watched James later that evening, her friends saw something very peculiar in her eyes. It looked like a type of hurt that Lily never had.

"What's going on between those two?" everyone asked, getting worried.

_Everytime I try to leave you bring me back  
So much water at times I cried a river  
You dried my eyes and brought me back to laughter_

Later after the dance, Lily was to be found hiding out in the guest room, and it looked like she was crying. "What am I going to do?" she thought, her heart feeling as though it was going flutter out of her chest.

James was walking toward his room when he heard sobbing coming from Lily's room. He headed over to the closed door and knocked.

Lily let out a teary, "Come in," so James entered. He let out a small sigh as Lily started sobbing harder. He began to wonder; until Lily showed him something it appeared she had just received.

It was an official looking letter; the note read:

We are terribly sorry, Miss Evans, to have to tell you this during the Christmas break, but Lord You-know-who killed your parents last night at quarter past eleven. Again we are terribly sorry,

The Ministry of Magic

James cursed under his breath, but wrapped his arms around Lily as she sobbed into his shoulder.

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Lily woke up later that night, with James lying on his side right behind her.

_No wonder I felt safe and warm_, she thought, stretching.

James woke up just then, his neck cramped from the position he'd been lying in.

"Lily?" he said groggily, searching for his glasses. "What are you doing?"

Lily looked at him over her shoulder, not aware that she had woken him up. She switched sides so that she was facing him.

"I'm just stretching. My side aches," she explained, trying to keep from smiling. No matter how hard she tried, a small smile appeared, along with a dimple on the side of her cheek.

"And what exactly has you smiling?" James asked curiously, his eyes still tired but also smiling.

"I was just thinking how warm I felt when I fell asleep," Lily said, her voice filled with laughter. She sobered quickly, remembering why James had fallen asleep in here in the first place.

"Petunia is not going to talk to me ever again," Lily said out loud to herself. James looked at her, apparently not comprehending what she had just said.

"Who won't talk to you?" he asked, making Lily uncertain how to answer. The only people who knew about Petunia were Alice, Serindra, Sarah and Sandra.

"James, I-I don't want to talk about it, ok?" she said, her voice cracking a bit from the tears threatening to spill over.

James nodded in sympathy, wanting to give Lily a hug desperately. He finally gave in to the impulse and Lily relaxed in his arms.

_I wonder what this is all about_, he wondered.

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A/N: okay that concludes chapter eighteen lol um please review!

Serindraxx


	19. Found Out?

After the holidays, which had been marred by Lily's parents being murdered by Lord Voldemort, Lily started working harder than ever on her studies, trusting James for help on Transfiguration.

About three weeks after Christmas break, Lily and James were found in the library where Lily was diligently working, trying to answer the Animagus questions. Finally she threw the quill down, and sighed in frustration.

James looked up from the Quidditch book he was reading. "What's your problem, Lils?" he asked.

Lily sighed again, and showed him the parchment with her questions on it.

James took one glance at it and grinned; something Lily didn't like. "James, what's so amusing?" she asked, a sense of foreboding entering her being.

James glanced up at her. "Animagus; well, that would probably be a tough question if I hadn't understood anything about it," he said, his eyes glinting.

Lily crossed her arms. "Exactly how do you know anything about it?" she hissed, checking for Madam Pince.

Oops, James thought, I'm caught. He tried to think of what to say without getting himself in trouble.

"Well, I've read about it," he said slowly, but Lily still wore a suspicious expression.

Lily glanced down at the parchment. One of the questions read: "What do Wizards feel when they Transform?"

James followed her gaze and swallowed. Damn, now I'm in trouble, he thought.

"Okay, Mr. Hotshot, what do wizards feel when they Transform?"

James thought for a second. How best to explain it without getting caught? Then he went for a direct approach to the question.

"Have you ever Apparated?" he asked. Lily blinked. That had nothing to do with the question.

"Have you ever Apparated?" James repeated. Lily slowly shook her head. "Well, it kinda feels like you're being trapped by air."

Lily looked confused and amused. So he was using Apparition as an example, eh; _hmm…_

_He's not telling me something_, she thought.

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James glanced out the window. Full moon; and it was almost night. Remus wasn't looking too healthy, his cheeks had turned pale.

"Sirius, we had better get him to the hospital wing," James said in an undertone. Sirius agreed, making sure to check that no one was watching them.

Dumbledore watched in approval of their friendship with Remus. Maybe something good would happen after all.

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Lily watched them leave, and then got up. Serindra asked what she was doing. Lily became very evasive, "I have some homework due tomorrow. I'll see you later."

She followed James and Sirius out of the great hall. As they went toward the hospitable wing, Lily overheard them talking in a low tone about Remus' condition.

"We should have realized what tonight is," from James.

"Yeah, but none of us has been near a calendar," from Sirius. "How were we supposed to know?"

James glanced up, but Lily hid behind a pillar. She saw him look around and shrug when he didn't see anything.

"Okay well, here's the plan," he said in a low tone to Sirius, "you need to go get my Invisibility Cloak from the dormitories and meet me back at the Hospital Wing. I need to go check on Peter and see if anyone spotted us leaving. See you in a little bit," and he vanished down the hall.

Lily sighed and relaxed against the pillar. Her relief was short-lived however when Sirius went by. And then Snape appeared.

What is this: a convention? Lily silently screamed. She slid behind the pillar as far as she dared to go, and landed on the floor with a soft thump. She bit her lip, worried about being heard.

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Sirius grinned malevolently at Snape, and continued his walk to Gryffindor tower. Snape would have gotten his letter this morning and just now be heading toward the Whomping Willow.

James was in the tower, yelling at Peter, when Sirius appeared.

James glanced up and recognized the grin on Sirius's face. "What did you do now? Put dung bombs in the Slytherin Common Room?" he asked wearily, suddenly alert when Sirius shook his head. "Did you do what I think you did?"

"What do you think I did?" Sirius asked, pushing the hair out of his eyes.

James's eyes grew wide. "You didn't," he breathed and suddenly ran toward the boys' Dormitory. He was back in record time, wrapping the Invisibility cloak around himself, and heading toward the portrait hole.

"Who's there?" the Fat Lady asked, as the portrait swung open and no one appeared.

"Damn it," James swore. He'd forgotten about that. Sirius appeared, standing in front of him.

"James, Snape deserves it," he implored, using his best puppy dog eyes.

"No, he doesn't. In case you didn't realize, you also put Moony in a compromising situation. Moony will not appreciate it if he finds out that he hurt someone no matter how mean they are." James was irritated and it showed. "You go take care of Peter; I'm dealing with this prank you pulled."

Sirius watched in annoyance as his best friend disappeared. James was getting about as bad as Lily.

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James started breathing harshly, running all the way to the willow. As he rounded the castle, he could see a shadowy figure prodding the knot.

"Sirius, you bloody moron," James hissed and followed the figure, getting as close as he dared to go.

"Snape, stay there," he said in as a loud voice as he dared to use. The figure paused, and turned around.

"Oh? What the hell are you going to do about it if I don't?" Snape sneered, looking uncertain and resolute at the same time.

James stopped where he was and tried to explain why Snape couldn't do what he was about to. Snape apparently didn't believe it, and who would? You didn't exactly say, "A werewolf lives in there on the full moon, don't go in unless you want to be ripped to shreds," did you?

While James stood dithering, Snape suddenly turned and went in the secret passage.

"Damn, why did you have to tell him, Sirius?" James said under his breath, and was about to follow Snape when he heard his name called. He turned around and nearly ran into… Lily.

"Lily, what are you doing here?" he asked, wanting to go into the Willow but not wanting Lily to follow.

"James, I overheard you and Sirius talking about Remus. What the hell are you thinking?" Lily let her voice rise to a pitch she hardly ever used. "You should never have been planning on coming out now, not when there is a werewolf about," she continued in a lower tone.

"Lily, I want you to go get Sirius and Professor Dumbledore, please. And do not follow me, whatever you hear. Got it?" He grabbed her chin when she tried to turn her head. He forced her to look him straight in the eye. "Got it?"

Lily nodded, and James let go. He vanished into the Willow.

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A/N: well there you go; all done with this chapter. Please review!

Serindraxx


	20. Found Out? Part 2

A/N: okay, I finished reading DH and this part makes no sense if you've read it, but I'm following the line I started when I wrote this. Bear with me please if you've read DH.

Serindraxx

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"_Lily, I want you to go get Sirius and Professor Dumbledore, please. And do not follow me, whatever you hear. Got it?" He grabbed her chin when she tried to turn her head. He forced her to look him straight in the eye. "Got it?" _

_Lily nodded, and James let go. He vanished into the Willow. _

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Lily stood looking at the willow for a couple more seconds, hoping James remained alive and whole, which was strange considering she had never hoped that.

She turned on her heel, and running toward the castle, ran full tilt into a muscular chest. She fell to the ground and looked up to see who she had run into.

One of the very people James had sent her after stood towering over her. Sirius looked at her, not at all concerned about James. "He went in, didn't he?" was all Sirius said, not even bothering to help her up.

"Yes," Lily growled as she stood up in annoyance. She brushed her robes off. "He's in there and said to get you and Professor Dumbledore, for reasons unknown to me. He's just going to get himself in trouble for being on the grounds when a werewolf is on the loose," she hissed as she walked past Sirius.

As she glanced at the castle, a hand clamped onto her shoulder. Lily jerked in surprise, but the hand that held her was gentle.

"Miss Evans, would you like to talk to me a minute?" Dumbledore asked as he steered her toward the castle.

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James was out of breath when he reached the shrieking shack. Well, the tunnel just ahead of the Shrieking Shack.

Snape was now at the entrance. Snape could now see what Remus was. James could hear Remus whining, starting to howl in pain. At risk of being sent to Azkaban, James switched to his Animagi form.

When Snape turned around at the sound of hooves, James charged him down. He stared hard into Snape's eyes, showing him that what was going on was very serious.

Snape realized who he was looking at, even though the eye-shape was totally different.

As the stag got up, Snape followed in a state of unreality. The stag started pushing him very insistently toward the exit, which a big black dog was now bounding away from. The dog continued toward the other side of the tunnel, where a big, black form was now emerging. There was a yelp, and the werewolf was pushed away from the tunnel mouth.

Prongs continued to push at Snape, who had apparently been frozen at the sound.

When Prongs gave one final push, Snape had obviously regained his composure. He got up faster than Prongs had time to blink. And then he was out of that tunnel, where Professor Dumbledore stood waiting with Lily.

Lily glared at Severus and turned her back on him. Snape hung his head in a dejected manner. Obviously Lily still had not forgiven him for his Mudblood insult from last year.

Dumbledore's normally sparkling eyes didn't miss the glitter of sadness in Snape's eyes, or the glare that Lily had thrown his way.

Dumbledore glanced upward when a stag and a big dog appeared. He thought he recognized the shape of the stag's eyes, but when he tried to look closer, the stag disappeared.

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Both the stag and black dog turned toward the forest, where they waited until Snape and Dumbledore disappeared.

When Lily was standing there by herself, lost in thought, the stag and dog appeared from behind the Whomping Willow.

The stag could see the glitter of tears on her cheek, and went up to rub against her. The dog seemed to roll its eyes at the stag's sentiment.

Lily jerked for a second, and then realized who she was looking at. "James?" she asked in shock. The stag disappeared again, but in its place, a boy with very messy hair and wearing glasses reappeared.

The dog had disappeared too, but Sirius Black stood in its place. "James, why on earth did you give in to that?" he asked incredulously. James rolled his eyes, but he grinned and shrugged.

Lily realized her mouth was open from shock, and quickly snapped it shut. She shook her head, as though trying to rid herself of a bad dream.

"You – you guys are Ani-Animagi?" she stuttered, nearly falling from the shock of it.

James caught her before she fell and smiled gently into her eyes.

"That's totally advanced magic, and you have to be registered," she said, her composure returning tenfold. Her temper was starting to simmer gently, and James's grin did nothing to cool it.

"You idiot," she snapped, lightly slapping his face. He jerked, but not from pain. Besides, he was used to pain; he got enough of it from her anyway.

"What is it this time, Prongs?" Sirius asked, bent over, trying not to laugh.

James looked at his friend in disgust. Seriously, Padfoot had a strange sense of humor, and everything that had to do with James and Lily amused him.

James seemed to be asking Lily to do something. She caught on, and smacked Sirius on the back of the head. Sirius groaned and held his head in his hands.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked, his eyes screwed up in pain.

Lily shrugged, her eyes twinkling mischievously. James groaned lightly, having realized he'd met his match.

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Meanwhile, Snape was in Dumbledore's office, where he told the Headmaster exactly what had happened to him. The only part he left out was that James had come and pushed him out.

Dumbledore listened carefully, having already known that James had saved him. Lily Evans had told him, when she came to get her Headmaster.

"I wonder," Dumbledore said quietly, "Why Miss Evans was glaring and not looking at you. I have it on good authority that you two are good friends."

Snape hung his head. He couldn't tell the Headmaster about his use of 'Mudblood,' because then Dumbledore would probably throw him out of the school. Well, that was what Snape thought anyway.

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A/N: okay, that chapter is done. Please understand that this chapter was planned out before DH came out. It doesn't make sense, but who really gives a damn?

Please review!

Serindraxx


	21. Fool Me Once Part I

Disclaimer: Why must we go through this? I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, Peter would never have been written.

**Fool Me Once… Part I**

Peter was feeling left out of the loop. None of his friends were ever around anymore. Remus was studying for end of year exams, Sirius and James were doing something to annoy Snape, and Lily was locked in her dormitory. He gave up on waiting for them to realize he'd disappeared in their eyes, and headed off on his own.

When he reached the corridor to get to Potions class, despite it being Saturday, he ran into someone un-liked by all the Gryffindors.

Lucius Malfoy was standing in his way, closely followed by Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Black.

"Ahh, Peter Pettigrew, out by yourself I see," Malfoy drawled.

Peter shivered. He didn't like being noticed like this. It was easier to stand up to Malfoy if you were flanked by someone taller and stronger than you.

"The Dark Lord wishes to ask for your valuable help with a situation we seem to be having," Malfoy continued, his voice now silky with contempt.

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"Has anybody seen Wormtail?" Remus asked, finally done studying. James and Sirius looked at each other. Neither one of them had thought about Wormtail since they got back from their run in with Remus the previous week.

Nor had they seen Lily. According to Serindra, Lily was lying on her bed, reading another romance, and ignoring everybody else. James was surprised that she wasn't studying.

Remus was still waiting for an answer. James looked at Sirius again and answered, "No, we haven't, but the Map should tell us."

Remus had forgotten about the Map. It had been a while since they had gone down one of the secret passages.

Just as James returned with the Map, the sound of footsteps on the girls' staircase caused all three boys to look at each other in panic.

As James stuffed the Map in one of his pockets, Lily's head appeared at the foot of the staircase. It appeared that she had been crying the entire time that she'd been hiding out.

All three boys realized at the same time that Lily had been crying because of her parents' deaths. She hadn't been able to grieve properly since they returned to Hogwarts.

As Lily took in their guilty faces, the portrait was swung open and Wormtail appeared. James was about to say, "We were just going to look for you," when a warning look from Remus stopped him.

Wormtail looked at them and gave a weary sigh. "I'm going to bed, guys, talk to you later," he said as he walked up the stairs.

"Why did you stop me?" James asked Remus, his voice calm, even though he didn't feel that way.

Remus shook his head to show he wasn't talking and picked up a book. Lily looked amused at his diversionary tactics and then turned her head to face the other two boys, who were taller than her by about six inches.

"Look, I know you mean well but I don't want you guys outside after curfew on full moons anymore," she said slowly as though it were killing her to have to say it.

Remus dropped what he was doing and listened. Had James or Sirius told on him?

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A/N: I hope the chapter title fits. The idea has been fluttering in my head. But I can't remember if it's 'fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me,' or the other way around. Anyways, Please review!


	22. Fool Me Once Part II

Disclaimer: I don't own this. I just had to get that out. Phew!

**Fool me once… Part II**

Had James or Sirius told on him? But they wouldn't. They knew how some people reacted to the truth.

Lily noticed his reaction and said quietly, "You might want to explain what happened," to James. She knew Sirius couldn't do it.

James turned around and noticed Remus glaring at him. He sighed. "Remus, Sirius thought that it would be a good joke to play on Snape if you bit him or killed him," he said, feeling the tension in his body.

"When I found out, I raced down to the Willow to get Snape away, but I had to get Dumbledore before anything happened. Lily found out through me that Sirius, Peter and I are Animagi." He sighed again. This was so difficult.

"But you have the right to tell Lily what it is that I call your furry little problem," he finished while looking at the ground.

Lily was looking at Remus, whose expression had softened for James, and gave a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't glaring at everyone in the room.

As James finished, Lily froze. What was Remus allowed to tell her?

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Peter lay on his four-poster, feeling tired and very pained in his left shoulder. He refused to let his feelings show on his face, but he didn't want to do what the Dark Lord wanted him to. He couldn't betray his friends like that.

'But you already have,' a little voice said in his head, making him curl up and leave his head under a pillow. Hopefully his friends wouldn't come in.

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Snape sat on a couch, reading a letter that he had received from his mother, who hadn't loved him the way she was supposed to have. And now she was writing to him, after the Dark Lord had recruited him.

His eyes stung with unshed tears, thinking of Lily and the way she had ignored him. It hurt to think that something he had done last year could still hurt one of his only friends.

He looked at the picture sitting on the table by his bed. In it, Lily looked as happy as he had felt with her beside him.

It's stupid, thinking of this, he thought, climbing into bed. She doesn't love me the way I have always loved her.

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When Remus went up to bed a little while later, Peter was still curled up under his pillow, where he had taken refuge to hide from the voices in his head.

"Peter, what's going on? I know that you're hiding something," Remus sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Who, me? Hide something? I'd never do that," Peter answered in an un-naturally high voice.

Remus sighed again, but didn't press the issue. He knew he wasn't going to get anywhere.

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"Lily, what do you see in Snivellus?" James asked, while working on Transfiguration.

"I see someone who is misunderstood, not listened to when he talks and ignored when he's at home," Lily answered quite readily.

James was amazed. She saw all that in him?

"I used to live around his neighborhood. He lived further down the road than me though, on a trashy muggle street," she said, not meeting his eyes.

James didn't say anything, because he saw she was close to tears.

He had forgotten that she didn't have anywhere to live except with her sister.

"We ran into each other at the park, when I was about eleven," she said, a slight smile on her face. "Petty and I were swinging, and I guess he was watching us. Anyway, I was scaring Petty with a flower that I opened the petals of.

"Sev came around and told me that I was a witch. I told him it wasn't nice to call somebody that and ran off.

"Later, we were sitting under a tree and I asked him to repeat what he had told me earlier about Dementors. My sister hasn't talked to me since," Lily finished, and the tears finally spilled over.

"I don't know what I'm going to do now, though," she said as she wiped her cheeks.

"I would offer to let you stay at my place this summer, but I'm not sure what my parents would think, we already have Sirius living with us," James said, roughly rubbing at his hair.

"I don't know what Dumbledore would say to it either. Ah well, just owl your parents. There's absolutely no way I'm going home to share with Petty and her whale of a boyfriend." Lily leaned back against her seat, not realizing that James was leaning back as well.

A/N: I know not a lot of action in this chapter, but I got Writers' Block for the end of it. Please review!

Serindraxx


	23. Truth in Nightmares?

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything that you recognize here… It all belongs to J.K. Rowling, I'm just playing with the characters.**

**Chapter 23: Truth in Nightmares?**

When Lily went home that summer, she only stayed long enough to pack her belongings. She didn't want to have to listen to her sister's accusations.

James was waiting for her, although he wasn't sure what to expect. Would she be crying? He didn't know how he would react if she was.

When Lily saw him on the corner of her street, she ran toward him, still carrying her suitcase. He caught her, holding her close, not wanting to let her go.

He still wasn't old enough to Apparate on his own, so he had brought his broom along, as well as his invisibility cloak.

When Lily saw how they were getting away, she took a couple of steps back, as though afraid that the broom would bite.

"Lily, come on," he wheedled, "It's perfectly safe." He mounted it, just to show her. She shook her head.

"James, I don't know," she said nervously. "I'm not too crazy about heights." James laughed.

"You'll be with me, and I'm a good flyer," he said, once his laughter had died down. She still shook her head, but sighed and climbed on behind him.

"You better not do anything crazy, Potter," she warned, and he knew that she was serious. He nodded his head swiftly, and then kicked off the ground.

Lily gasped and held tighter to his waist, not wanting to fall. Vertigo was swiftly kicking in, and she closed her eyes, hoping that it would lessen it.

James laughed, loving the feeling of the wind in his hair. As well as the feel of the girl he loved clinging to his waist.

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Sirius was waiting for them when James finally dropped into his yard. The grin that split Sirius's face was so contagious that Lily found herself smiling too.

When she was able to let go of James, she climbed off the broom, and raced to give Sirius a tackle hug, knowing that he could take it.

Sirius picked her up and swung her around, much like James had done. She laughed, and when Sirius put her down, she danced to herself.

Severus was stealing his way to her thoughts, but she tried to ignore it. She didn't want him to spoil her mood, however precarious it might be.

"Come on, lets get my stuff inside," she called, racing for the door. James and Sirius looked at each other, then James grabbed Lily's suitcase and they were off.

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That night, Lily had a nightmare. But when James came in and woke her up, she couldn't remember it. She knew that it had scared her because she could feel her heart racing under her pajamas.

When she tried to explain it to James, she got just a shadow of a memory. He nodded his head in understanding, and was getting up when Lily grabbed his arm.

"James will you stay with me for the rest of the night?" she asked; her eyes were still wide in fear.

He ran his hand through his hair, and climbed on the bed next to her, on top of the covers. Wrapping his arm over her shivering body, he kissed her head, and she went back to sleep almost immediately.

He sighed. He knew he was in trouble, but he decided that he wasn't going to think about it.

A few minutes later, he was asleep.

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_The room was dim, but he knew where he was. It was the same dream he'd had when Lily woke him up. _

"_Potter, you are not who I am after, but if you don't get out of my way, I have no worries about killing you," said a cold voice, a voice that sent shivers down even the most experienced wizard. _

"_You'll never get to Harry," he heard himself say, as though he had no control over what came out of his mouth._

"_Very well, Potter, you leave me no choice. _Avada Kedavra._"_

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James woke up, and then quickly wished that he hadn't. The sun streaming through Lily's curtains hit him full in the face.

He rolled over, covering his eyes with his arm. Lily was still asleep next to him, as though what had happened last night had not affected her in the least.

He groaned, wondering what exactly had happened. Who was Harry?

"James," Lily whispered, and he looked at her, a smile trying to break over his mouth. She looked so adorable, her hair all over her face.

Her green eyes were wide, and he found himself leaning over and planting a kiss on her forehead. "It's morning," he said, obviously. "I need to get to my own bed, or mum is going to kill me." He climbed off the bed, stretching his back.

"James; thanks for staying with me last night," Lily said quietly. He nodded, his throat suddenly tight.

She smiled. "Now go before your mum kills you," she said, and laughed.

He grinned.

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"Prongs, there you are! We've been waiting for you," Sirius said, the moment that James closed his bedroom door.

James banged his head on the door. "Don't even think about asking where I was last night," he warned, turning to face his best friends.

Remus made a zipper motion on his lips, but Sirius didn't heed the warning. "I don't need to ask where you were last night," he answered. "You were with Lily."

Remus rolled his eyes. "He's been hyper since he came in this morning, to find that you were missing," he said, and threw Sirius a dirty look. Sirius, however, ignored it.

James sighed. "Nothing happened, Pads. Lily just had a nightmare. And get this," he said, proceeding to explain that he had had a nightmare too.

"Hmm," Remus said, thinking it over, "Maybe it means that it's a future event."

James shrugged, not wanting to dwell too much on it.

"Well, anyone up for a game of chess?"

James and Remus burst into laughter. Leave it to Sirius to bring up chess.

**A/N: UPDATE! I have finally gotten around to updating Stars in Her Eyes… I hope that you enjoyed it. Leave a review on your way out?**

**Serindraxx**


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